The Port of Hueneme (Calif.) received $10.4 million in funding from the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) to help build shoreside power plug-in infrastructure on its North Terminal. The port also recently received state and federal funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust to implement innovative technologies to increase electrification efforts, track air quality progress, and further reduce particulate matter. These environmental wins benefit the port and its surrounding community.
At its Dec. 2 board meeting, the VCTC unanimously voted to approve funding for numerous CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality) projects that reduce congestion and vehicle emissions. VCTC awarded the Port of Hueneme a $10.4 million grant for its North Terminal Shore Power Project.
In 2014 the all-electric shoreside power systems went online at the South Terminal where containerships plug in to use the clean grid power. Since 2008, there has been an estimated 96% decrease in sulfur oxides (SOx) and an 77% reduction in harmful diesel particulate matter. This state-of-the-art electrification project allows car-carrying ships to connect to shoreside power to effectively eliminate diesel emissions while at berth. The Project will be built through the port’s Project Labor Agreement. Many of the car-carrying vessels are used for the import and exports of passenger vehicles. In fact, customers report that 23% of the cars transiting the Port of Hueneme are electric vehicles, outperforming the national average of 4%. The port ranks as one of the top six ports in the U.S. for automobile trade. Passenger vehicles account for a quarter of all imports and exports at the Port of Hueneme, and last year totaled $4.99 billion for imports, and $228.07 million for exports. This creates hundreds of good paying jobs with an average salary of $73,000.
Being the recipient of federal, state, regional, and local grants has been instrumental in allowing the port to reduce carbon emissions within the port and in the surrounding communities.
Brian MacDonald, VCTC vice chair and Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Oxnard, said in a statement announcing the grant award, that he is proud that VCTC was able to award a $10.4 million grant to the Port of Hueneme.
“This is huge for this area of Oxnard and Port Hueneme, because when these ships come into port and are sitting at the berth, if they don’t have a power source, they run their onboard powerplants. Now, they can come it, shut down their machinery, plug in, and be fully self-sufficient.”
