THE ROLE OF THE PORT RENEWABLE ENERGY COMMUNITY IN DECARBONIZING THE PORT SUPPLY CHAIN How ports can be the front runners of the energy transition?

The increasing energy demand originating from port activities, coupled with the need for reducing GHG emissions have urged greater attention from port decision makers on energy management issue, especially considering current institutional and normative settings which consider energy transition and port decarbonization as core goals to be achieved in the next years. As a result, the energy-intensive nature of port activities and the ongoing stricter environmental regulations at European and international levels, have increased the pressure on port authorities to find innovative solutions to reduce pollution arising from port-related activities. This decarbonization does not only consider the port as a node but considers the entire supply chain in order to solve the energy consumption and the pollution issues in a more comprehensive way. In this vein, this PhD thesis examines the role of the port renewable energy community (PREC) in decarbonizing the port supply chain. The PhD thesis aims to assess the extent to which the introduction and development of effective PREC can enable overtaking the issues and concerns related to energy management in the port domain. A step-by-step framework towards a PREC consisting of a theoretical part and empirical part is developed. The theoretical part introduces and discusses key strategic management theories and theoretical constructs involved in the research activities by addressing several concepts and issues such as green strategies in ports, ports as energy hub, port energy management system and PREC business model. Then, the empirical part consists of 4 papers related to the theoretical part. The first paper shows an empirical evidence of stakeholder prioritisation in Italian ports. The second paper analyses the port renewable energy hub. Then, the third paper addresses the energy management in the port as a holistic approach. Finally, the fourth paper develops an innovative business model for port renewable energy community. The empirical research outcomes provide valuable insights for port stakeholders regarding the port supply chain decarbonization. Managerial implications for port authorities, policymakers and scholars are extensively debated to pave the way for future studies on energy transition, energy management and PREC. In this perspective, this PhD thesis would take a step forward in the research on PREC both theoretically and practically grounding on the step-by-step framework towards a PREC. This step-by-step framework can be used as a starting point and/or as a decision-support tool for the port's long path to decarbonisation and energy efficiency.