Funding has been approved for electric trucks that will support greener operations at a US port.
The managing members of the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) have approved US$560,000 towards the infrastructure for cleaner running electric yard trucks at the Port of Tacoma.
“The NWSA is thrilled to build upon the work of the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy and welcome this new zero-emission technology to our Tacoma Harbor,” said Dick Marzano, Port of Tacoma Commission President and Managing Member of the NWSA. “This is just the beginning of showing the longstanding operational and environmental benefits of electric yard trucks within our gateway.”
RMS & NWSA partnership
Rail Management Services (RMS), which specialises in intermodal rail yard operations, will purchase the six trucks and charging stations. NWSA will install the electrical infrastructure for recharging the new cargo handling equipment.
The six zero-emission electric yard trucks will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 236t annually. The electric yard trucks also cost less to operate than traditional diesel trucks and require less maintenance with their fewer moving parts.
The electric tractors will be the first of their kind in the NWSA gateway at the Port of Tacoma and build on the more ambitious Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy adopted by the NWSA along with the ports of Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, earlier this year.
In 2020, NWSA was awarded a US$780,000 DERA grant and accepted US$130,000 in Tacoma Power’s Cargo/Material Handler Equipment incentive funding to bring six electric terminal tractors to the Port of Tacoma’s South Intermodal Yard.
Earlier this year, the NWSA adopted the updated Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, which lays out an aspirational vision to phase out emissions from seaport activities by 2050.
