The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) has announced the completion of shore power at Husky Terminal in Tacoma, having welcomed Hapag-Lloyd’s Kuala Lumpur Express as its inaugural shore power plug-in.
The Kuala Lumpur Express is a part of the new Gemini Cooperation in partnership with Maersk, and the nearly 9,000 TEU Hapag-Lloyd vessel was the first to plug in after completion of the commissioning phase.
This inaugural plug-in also makes Husky Terminal the second international cargo terminal in Washington State to be shore power capable, following the completion of Terminal 5’s system in 2023.
When at berth, vessels produce both diesel particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions, impacting the air quality and health of our near-port communities.
Shore power, which allows vessels to turn off their diesel engines and ‘plug-in’ to the local power grid while being worked, is the primary strategy for eliminating these emissions.
The next terminals to be equipped with this infrastructure will be Terminal 18 in Seattle and Washington United Terminal in Tacoma.
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Shore power is an expensive infrastructural investment, and contributions from several different grant programmes supported this project.
This project received direct support from the Washington State Legislature through a grant award from the VW Settlement Agreement Funds.
Funding support also came from the EPA’s Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) and the Trans-Alta Coal Transition grant programmes. Between the three grants, this project benefited from just over $3 million in State and Federal funds.
“At the Seaport Alliance, we take our job of stewardship seriously, for both the economic and environmental prosperity of the region,” said NWSA Co-Chair and Port of Tacoma Commission President John McCarthy.
“Shore power is a key component of our strategy to phase out all maritime emissions by 2050 or sooner, and completion of this project is a major milestone for our gateway.”
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“The success of these projects is completely dependent on collaboration and support between many partners,” said NWSA Co-Chair and Port of Seattle Commission President Toshiko Hasegawa.
“We are extremely grateful for our partners in this project, Husky Terminal, Hapag-Lloyd, Tacoma Public Utilities, International Longshore Workers Union (ILWU) Local 22, and the funding support from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Washington State Legislature.”
