Los Angeles looks to the sun for answers

That line of reasoning is blown out of the water in Los Angeles, where authorities are trying to turn their backs on conventional electricity, and to get theirs from the largest source of energy known to man – the sun.

If they can pull it off, then it’s not out of the question that containers can be unloaded and moved in an entirely carbon-neutral way, or by using cranes that actually generate electricity when lowering boxes.

That radical thought comes from the hard fact that by the end of this year the port will be generating a megawatt of clean electricity from a 6,600 square-metre solar panel array on the roof of its World Cruise Centre.


A similar scheme on the city’s Metro bus dept promises to cut fuel bills by half – a saving of $500,000 (£349m).

Both schemes are part of an ambitious 1.3-gigawatt grid-connected solar power network, driven by another huge energy source, City Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who’s drawn a line in the sand and promised to deliver 20% of the city’s electricity from solar by next year, and 35% by 2020. He says: “We are harnessing our greatest resource to power our greatest economic engine. This project will create good, green-collar jobs and stimulate the growth of a new, green economy powered by clean technology.”

This first phase of the solar power network is the first step on a journey to 10MW of solar capacity on the port, which will come from an array of 100,000 square metres – enough to power up to 2,500 homes.

The Port’s electricity demand continues to grow as it receives increasing numbers of vessels and as authorities test electric drayage trucks, hostlers and other cargo-handling equipment. The solar installation will not only help the Port of Los Angeles reduce its reliance on oil and cut electricity-related greenhouse gas emissions, but City officials estimate that the solar industry creates 200 to 400 jobs in research, development, manufacturing and installation for every 10 megawatts of solar power generated each year.