Port of Savannah achieves sustainability initiatives

Steve Green, the Georgia Ports Authority’s (GPA) Chairman of the Board, announced today at the GPA’s board meeting that its Container Berth 2 upgrade, installation of electrified refrigerated cargo racks, and transfer of GPA’s ship-to-shore cranes to electric power have been completed.

“These projects will increase capacity, improve efficiency and the environment,” said Green. “Our goal is to create jobs and be good stewards of the environment and these projects do exactly that.”

The $11.6 million Container Berth 2 upgrade project included the use of 12,200 tons, or 24 acres, of recycled concrete material. “Not only did we eliminate the need to import quarried stone but also the need to dispose of it,” said Doug J. Marchand, GPA’s Executive Director. “Emission reduction from this project alone is significant.”

As part of its Container Berth 2 upgrade, the GPA announced the completion of more than 300 slots on terminal for refrigerated cargo containers. These new cargo racks are completely electrified and greatly reduce the GPA’s reliance on diesel power for cargo refrigeration on terminal.

The GPA also announced that it had completed a six-year project to transfer its ship-to-shore cranes from diesel to electric power. “Today we have 17 cranes powered solely by electricity,” said Marchand. “As a result of this program, the Port of Savannah will conserve more than 1.5 million gallons of diesel fuel every year. It is safe to say that the release of hundreds of tons of nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter will also be avoided.”

The GPA also announced 18.0 percent growth in total tonnage for February, or more than 300,000 additional tons compared with February 2007.

Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 286,476 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $14.9 billion in income, $55.8 billion in revenue and $2.8 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s bustling economy.