Goodbye to standard commercial trucks, and hello to zero-pollution vehicles at the Port of Long Beach in California.
Electrek reported that the U.S. Federal Highway Administration awarded the Long Beach Container Terminal a $34.9 million grant to buy new electric trucks and fund the infrastructure to support them.
"This investment is a huge win for clean air, electrification and the region," said U.S. House Rep. Robert Garcia, per the outlet. "These federal dollars will make our port cleaner, safer, and help us meet our climate goals."
This new grant money complements the Port of Long Beach's ongoing sustainability efforts with its zero-pollution cranes and cargo handling equipment, per a Power Progress news release. Following the $2.5 billion investment in that project, the terminal has reported an 86% reduction in harmful carbon pollution.
The Port of Long Beach has also received about $70 million in grants from the California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board to work on six projects related to zero-pollution equipment and advanced energy systems. It handles trade valued at $200 billion annually and claims it's the "world's greenest container terminal."
Making container terminals greener is important because these places used to be among the most pollution-heavy environments in the world. Electric trucks can improve the air quality for people living and working near these terminals and serve as a positive and productive example for other trucking industries, such as mail delivery and waste management.
"Ports are an excellent place to install EV trucks. As I understand, the trucks don't go very much distance, mostly moving containers around the port itself. The more EV trucks get purchased and used every day, the more familiar people and companies get with them and the more likely they are to purchase them for use elsewhere," one Electrek reader commented about the news.
"This is very doable, and it really helps reduce the air pollution in port cities," agreed another commenter.
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