Two Port of Long Beach container-cargo terminals will receive $5 million in grants from the Port to convert diesel-powered cargo cranes to electricity for substantial air pollution improvements.
The Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday, May 19, approved two grants of $2.5 million each to help fund the electrification of 28 diesel-powered rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs) and reduce air pollution by about 120 tons a year.
The Port called earlier this year for proposals to convert the massive RTGs, which are mobile lifters that load and unload container trucks, stacking and unstacking containers in the terminal yard. The Port has awarded the grants to Total Terminals International, which operates at Pier T, and SSA Terminals at Pier A.
The grant program was established to help terminal operators reduce emissions from the diesel-powered machines by converting them to electricity. The grant project aims to accelerate the reduction of pollution from RTGs ahead of the already ambitious goals set by the groundbreaking San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan.
The terminals will begin working shortly to convert the cranes to electricity by the end of 2010. The terminal operators will each spend about $2.8 million of their own funds on the project, mostly for operational and infrastructure needs.
In addition to these grants to encourage new technology, the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles have also agreed as part of the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan to each spend $1.5 million a year for five years, for a total of $15 million, on clean-air technology advancement.
