Governor Gavin Newsom has delivered a historic $80 million to the Port of Hueneme for social and economic equity projects to help transform the port to a zero-emission hub.
California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) Secretary, Toks Omishakin, remarked: “It is a historic and momentous day for transportation in California, for ports in California, and, more importantly, for the people of California.
“We worked with local partners, we worked with port leaders, we worked with federal officials to come up with a game plan. That game plan included short-term and long-term solutions.”
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The Secretary then shared the exciting news that an unprecedented $79.8 million will be awarded to the Port of Hueneme for its strategic PACED (Port Action, Climate, and Environment Development) project.
The project aims to sustain supply chain fluidity, flexibility, and resilience, while ensuring continued operational excellence, sustaining, and creating new employment opportunities.
It will also look to improve air and water quality, mitigating the impacts of climate change and promoting transportation equity and environmental progress.
“As a result of this extraordinary funding, we will be in a better position to create more job opportunities for local residents to support vital port operations and the deployment of clean technologies,” said Jess Herrera, President of the Oxnard Harbor Commission.
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More specifically, the project removes dilapidated obsolete buildings, installs zero emission plug in units for containers, and builds fuel cell technology infrastructure.
Further, the project brings efficiency and safety improvements through deepening the berths that allows for renourishment of local beaches with clean dredged sediment.
The funding additionally supports shoreside power and emission control systems that make vessels zero-emission while in port and provides for port-wide crane electrification and the procurement of zero emission cargo handling equipment.
Components awarded also look to protect the ocean with the ability to procure an electric sweeper to prevent debris from going into the port’s stormwater systems.
“Our residents are going to get cleaner air, our workers are going to find better jobs, all of the organisations that have been fighting for better quality of life, Assemblymember the trades have been fighting for good, high-paying union jobs are winners with this,” Assemblymember Steve Bennett.
