More battery-powered trucks should enter the Port of Oakland fleet by 2020 thanks to the Air Resources Board’s Sustainable Terminals Accelerating Regional Transformation (START) Project which will demonstrate nearly 100 pieces of zero-emissions terminal equipment and trucks at three California seaports, including Oakland.
The START Project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Oakland is expected to receive about $9 million in grant funds, which will be used as follows:
Shippers Transport Express, a port tenant, would receive 10 zero-emission, battery-powered trucks to haul containers.
Another tenant, SSA, would acquire five zero-emission yard trucks to shuttle containers within Matson Marine Terminal, which SSA operates.
As part of the agreement, the Port of Oakland expects to spend up to $2 million to construct battery-charging stations. Other California ports participating in the grant program include Long Beach and Stockton.
“Our goal is to minimize the impact of containerized freight transportation on air quality,” said Richard Sinkoff, Director of Environmental Programs and Planning at the Port. “Zero-emission vehicles play a big role in that effort.”
The state grant will increase the number of electric trucks currently operating in Oakland that haul containerized cargo. The Port projected that new battery powered trucks could be in service by mid-2020.