Maritime container terminals play an important role in global supply chains. In addition to the rapid handling of containers, the reduction of CO2 emissions is also increasingly crucial for terminal operators. This can be achieved by integrating renewable sources such as photovoltaic or wind energy. While energy supply and demand must be in balance, the amount of energy produced through renewable sources cannot be controlled as it depends exclusively on variable weather conditions. One option for efficient use of renewable energy sources is to modify energy consumption by intelligently controlling processes. This study aims to answer the question to what extent energy intensive consumption processes at container terminals can be adapted to a volatile energy supply. A discrete event simulation study is conducted to analyze handling processes by quay cranes as main energy consumers depending on the availability of photovoltaic energy. Therefore, the operating times of quay cranes are partially limited to daylight hours. Only a low number of quay cranes is deliberately deployed when a time window occurs between the predicted end of loading of the vessel and a departure time of the vessel determined by the tidal range. The simulation results show that by flexibly using certain quay cranes only during daylight hours the percentage of energy produced by renewable resources can be increased by up to 50%. As a result, handling-related CO2 emissions can be reduced. The study offers an approach to a sustainable energy supply on terminals by reconciling energy use and environmentally friendly generation.
