Contact: Noah Barnes, Electrification Coalition
noah@electrification.org, (202) 461-2371
WASHINGTON—Today, President Joe Biden is announcing $3 billion in grants for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Ports Program at an event at the Port of Baltimore. Upon this announcement, the Electrification Coalition (EC) and Sourcewell are excited to launch evPORT to support ports with procurement and implementation. This new one-stop online portal allows ports nationwide to procure electric vehicles and port equipment, charging infrastructure and related services.
The EPA Clean Ports Program catalyzes a transition to zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure. Today’s announcement included $3 billion in grants to 55 projects across 27 states and territories, including $344 million for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, $322 million for the Port of Oakland and $78 million for the Port of Philadelphia. These grants will fund electric cargo handling equipment and drayage trucks, charging infrastructure, shore power, solar arrays, battery storage and other enabling technology to reduce emissions at ports.
“Ports are critical to our nation’s economy and offer a valuable opportunity to electrify freight vehicles, including the thousands of short- to medium-length trips taken by trucks in and out of ports,” said Ben Prochazka, executive director of the EC. “While trucks represent a small portion of all on-road vehicles, they use a disproportionate amount of oil. These awards will create the next generation of ports that will reduce oil dependence and emissions. Soon, our goods will be able to go from ports to warehouses and across the country in electric trucks. This is yet another critical step forward in the Inflation Reduction Act’s efforts to accelerate transportation electrification in the U.S.”
The EC is pleased that nine members of its Port Electrification Network (PEN) received either planning or deployment grants through the Clean Ports Program, including the Port of Oakland, the Port of Philadelphia, the Maryland Port Administration, as well as the Port of Houston Authority, which received a Climate and Air Quality Planning grant of nearly $3 million to support analysis and planning for introducing zero-emission technology into the port. Through PEN, the EC provides ongoing guidance to ports in efforts to electrify operations and supported ports in their applications for this funding.
As these grant recipients invest in electrifying port vehicles and equipment, the new evPORT website will reduce costs and ease the procurement process for ports. As ports are working to deploy these resources, evPORT provides technical resources to help ports better understand key decisions, including which vehicles will best meet their needs. Additionally, any public agency can use evPORT to greatly reduce time and energy when procuring vehicles. The evPORT tool can be accessed at evPORT.org.
The evPORT program complements other tools and resources that the Electrification Coalition has developed, including PEN, Electric Freight Consortium and EV Funding Finder. More information about these programs is available at electrificationcoalition.org.
“The Electrification Coalition is excited to help build ports of the future where electric trucks are transporting our goods without relying on oil,” said Prochazka. “By powering trucks and port equipment with electricity that is produced domestically from diverse sources, we are reducing our reliance on oil and improving air quality and public health in the communities that surround ports. Today’s grants and the new evPORT online portal will contribute to a freight sector that makes our nation stronger and safer.”
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About the Electrification Coalition: The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes policies and actions to facilitate the widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) on a mass scale to overcome the economic, public health and national security challenges that stem from America’s dependence on oil. ElectrificationCoalition.org