The Port of Virginia to get $14 million from state for two more electric ship-to-shore cranes, trucks
The Port of Virginia will ditch two diesel-powered, ship-to-shore cranes and several gas-powered container tractors, replacing them with all-electric versions, once it gets $14 million from the state.
The money is coming from $93.6 million the state received as part of a federal settlement following the Volkswagen emissions scandal. Of the funding, $10 million will go toward buying two new giant electric ship-to-shore cranes from China’s Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company Limited, or ZPMC. The port plans to match the state’s gift with $10.1 million of its own to pay for the cranes.
The remaining $4 million from the state will pay for five new all-electric tractors and charging stations for the Richmond Marine Terminal. The vehicles, often called hustlers, look like semi-trucks and ferry containers around within the property. The new tractors will replace diesel-powered ones.
“This Port is a gem for the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Gov. Ralph Northam, in announcing the funding Friday.
Northam said an additional $20 million would be reserved for local governments throughout the state to replace diesel vehicles with zero-emission, all-electric versions. Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander said his city is in the midst of switching its fleet of vehicles to cleaner versions. The Department of Environmental Quality plans to begin taking applications for that program next month.
Northam said the effort at the port aligns with the state’s goal of converting entirely to clean energy by 2050. He said it’s possible for the state to be both environmentally friendly and attractive to business, saying a focus on renewable energy is increasingly a draw for businesses looking to relocate or grow.
Kendyl Crawley Crawford, director of Richmond-based Virginia Interfaith Power & Light who also spoke at Friday’s announcement, said the switch from diesel to electric was also a form of climate justice and said her group “very loudly applauds” the funding news.
“Industries have too often polluted communities of color,” she said.
The port’s two new cranes will sit on the bank of the Elizabeth River like the others, reaching out onto massive ships to either unload or drop off containers in the vessels.
The new cranes will be placed at the Norfolk International Terminals. Port officials said the electric versions will effectively replace two diesel cranes normally used at Portsmouth Marine Terminal that closed in early May to container traffic amid the pandemic.
“The port is trying to be holistic in its approach,” said John Reinhart, the Port’s CEO and executive director, after noting the conversions and fixes that had already taken place to reduce emissions there, including adding 26 new truck lanes to reduce idling, replacing diesel container carriers with hybrid shuttles and using a barge to ferry containers between Hampton Roads and Richmond, leading to 45,000 fewer trucks on the interstate.
He said replacing diesel cranes with two electric ones would reduce the amount of diesel fuel used each year by 75,000 gallons.
The additional cranes come as the port finishes a years-long $800 million expansion at two of its terminals that included four new, electric ship-to-shore cranes for Virginia International Gateway. The new cranes are also in addition to two other electric cranes arriving at the Norfolk International Terminals in October from ZPMC as part of an earlier contract.
Reinhart said that once the two new cranes are ordered, perhaps by fall, they could be completed and shipped in 18 months. That could be just in time for channel dredging to be done that will allow for more of the largest container ships to use the port.
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