The Port of Oakland announced last month that TraPac, one of four terminal operating companies at the port, has been awarded money by the Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade cargo-handling equipment in a further effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions along the waterfront.
In 2008, the Port of Oakland pledged an 85 percent reduction in carbon emissions and is already beyond the 70 percent mark. The recent EPA grant will help further the port’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Photo courtesy of Port of Oakland
By Bill Picture
Published: November, 2015
The Port of Oakland announced last month that TraPac, one of four terminal operating companies at the port, has been awarded money by the Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade cargo-handling equipment in a further effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions along the waterfront.
The $277,885 grant will be used to install cleaner-burning diesel engines and/or exhaust filters on four rubber-tired gantry cranes and one top-pick crane. These cranes are used at the port to load inbound containers onto trucks for transport to customers all over the country.
An earlier EPA grant allowed two other rubber-tired gantry cranes at the port to receive similar green makeovers early last year. Those cranes were each re-engineered to run on a rechargeable battery. An energy management system and small diesel generator were also added. When the battery runs low, the onboard energy management system fires up the generator to recharge it.
“The port is always looking to identify new ways to reduce pollution,” said Port of Oakland Communications Manager Robert Bernardo. “We’re looking at all of the contributing sources and making cuts wherever and whenever we can. It’s a very holistic approach that we are taking.”
That approach has allowed the Port of Oakland to drastically reduce carbon emissions on the waterfront since 2008, when it pledged an 85 percent reduction in diesel particulate matter (DPM) by 2020. “We’re now well beyond the 70 percent mark, which we’re really proud of,” adds Bernardo.
Port’s bit part
While air quality in bustling West Oakland continues to be a hot-button issue for the people who work and live in the area—and the politicians and groups who represent them—it’s important to note that a health inventory assessment completed in 2008 showed the port itself to be a pretty minor player in this ongoing problem. At-port sources accounted for only about 16 percent of the diesel particulate matter in the air.
The study went on to show that the biggest culprit was I-880 and the many, many vehicles that travel on it. The thousands of drivers weaving through West Oakland’s heart each day are unwittingly leaving behind dense concentrations of exhaust, and the chemicals in that exhaust are largely to blame for the higher-than normal rates of asthma and cancer being reported in the area.
Naturally, that stream of emissions-spewing vehicles includes large trucks heading to and from the port, so regulation was enacted at the state level to require older trucks to either be retrofitted with cleaner engines or be replaced entirely. And that’s improved air quality in West Oakland considerably.
Next on the port’s to-do list was the creation of an on-land power grid that vessels could use while at port, allowing captains to switch off their diesel engines. Ocean-going vessels had been found to be the biggest at-port source of pollution, with off-road equipment, like the cranes benefitting from the EPA’s latest green grant, coming in last.
“But every source is taken very seriously,” Bernardo said.
Keeping an eye on the money
Bernardo said that port management keeps a close eye on grant opportunities so as not to miss out on the chance to make improvements. “Grants are popping up all the time, but not every one is a good fit for us,” he said. “When this grant came up, it looked really doable for us, so we approached all of our marine terminal operating companies about applying.”
In the end, TraPac’s equipment was the best suited for the proposed retrofit. “And they were really excited,” Bernardo said.
A retrofit is expensive, and it’s unclear if the EPA grant will cover the cost entirely. Still, the money is well spent. Once the retrofit is completed, each crane will reportedly emit 95 percent less carbon monoxide and 44 percent less diesel particulate matter.
At this point, emissions standards haven’t been set for this kind of equipment, so emissions reductions are completely voluntary. But Bernardo doesn’t foresee a day when such equipment will be subject to emissions standards like the ones enacted for trucks, because operators at the port are eager to do their part for the environment.
“All of us recognize that climate change is a very real thing, so we’re always looking for ways to improve things,” he said. “We’re here for eight to 10 hours a day and breathe this air, so air quality here is very important to us.”
When asked if he’s noticed an improvement in air quality himself, Bernardo said, “It certainly feels that way to me; but it’s hard to tell sometimes because of my allergies.”
So what will happen when the port reaches its goal of an 85 percent reduction in DPM? Is that good enough for the seemingly always ahead-of-the-green-curve Port of Oakland? Will they sit back and let the other ports catch up?
“Absolutely not,” Bernardo said. “There’s always something you can do, always room to be better. As soon as we reach that goal, we’ll do an assessment, determine where improvement can be made, and come up with a new set of goals for ourselves.”
