Port Inches Closer to Zero Emissions Goals Ahead of Schedule

The Port of Long Beach is ahead of schedule in accomplishing its lofty clean energy goals. Despite the record-breaking cargo volumes last year, the port is still recording substantially reduced emissions, including a more than 88% reduction in diesel emissions and a 97% reduction in sulfur oxides since 2005, when the port began its clean energy plan. At the annual State of the Port address last week, the port announced that it has upped the ante on its clean energy goals and estimates that two terminals will be operating at clean energy years ahead of schedule.

“We have updated our zero emissions goals, raising the bar even higher. The goal now is for terminal operators to use only zero emissions equipment by 2030, only 11 years from now, and five years after that, truckers will move to zero emissions vehicles,” Mario Cordero, executive director at the Port of Long Beach, said that the event. “Every vessel, truck, train, tug and crane will be impacted by our zero emissions revolution. These changes will put us on the path to reduce greenhouse gasses 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.”

When the port made this announcement, however, there were questions. Among the most common were, first, if there was technology available to accomplish this goal, and, second, what was the cost. Cordero says that the goal is more attainable that most people think. “A sustainable future will require a shift to renewable energy, and the technology is coming faster than you think. It is coming to the port,” he said. “We began a project to test a micro-grid power grid that will link a solar carport to a storage system, giving us energy, even in an emergency. The storage system includes mobile units that can replace today’s portable diesel generators.”

The port is already on track to accomplish this goal, and in fact, it is on track to achieve clean energy at two port terminals in the next few years. “At the Port of Long Beach, we have launched an unprecedented program to deploy more than 130 pieces of near-zero and zero-emissions equipment,” said Cordero. “This includes containerships, tugboats, stacking cranes and heavy-duty trucks. This transformation begins this summer. The result will be that two of our six container terminals will operate nearly all zero-energy equipment within a couple of years, a decade before our very ambitious deadline of 2030.”

Cordero is clear that the port’s ultimate goals is eliminating harmful emissions and pushing the port into the future. He believes that this is necessary to combat climate change, and the clean air action plan is the port’s contribution. “We know climate change is a major global effort and a global threat,” said Cordero. “We need to transition to a sustainable low-carbon energy, and the Port of Long Beach will do its part. Our challenge is not only to reduce harmful emissions; it is eliminating them altogether.”