By Mark Edward Nero
Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals and the Port of Los Angeles said May 26 that they’re jointly launching the Green Omni Terminal Demonstration Project, a full-scale, real-time demonstration of zero and near-zero emission technologies at a working marine terminal.
At full build out, the Pasha terminal would be the world’s first marine terminal able to generate all of its energy needs from renewable sources, according to the port. The $26 million project is partly funded by a $14.5 million grant from the California Air Resources Board.
“This is a Wright Brothers moment,” Pasha Senior Vice President Jeffrey Burgin said. “We’re going to be the proving ground to change the paradigm of how large industrial facilities can run on clean energy.”
Project implementation begins in June with the final design and construction of a solar-powered microgrid.
As part of the project, Pasha will integrate a fleet of new and retrofitted zero-emission electric vehicles and cargo-handling equipment into its terminal operations and demonstrate the latest generation of advanced technology for capturing ship emissions from vessels unable to plug into shore power at berth.
“It’s exciting to see a project with so many emerging zero or near-zero emission solutions for handling and moving freight,” Air Board Chair Mary Nichols said in a statement.
The project also features a microgrid that includes solar generation, battery storage and an energy management system to maximize usage.
The 40-acre terminal handles general, project and heavy-lift cargoes of all shapes and sizes, including break bulk commodities such as steel and containerized cargo, making it what the port calls “the ideal laboratory” for developing zero-emission solutions for many industries.
The project’s developmental fleet of zero-emission cargo handling equipment includes four electrified yard tractors, two high-tonnage forklifts, two drayage trucks and a top handler. Additionally, two wharf cranes will be upgraded with new electrical drives and control systems, and the project will demonstrate ShoreCat, the next generation of the METS-1 (Marine Exhaust Treatment System) for capturing at-berth vessel emissions without plugging into shore power.
METS-1, which was piloted at the Port of Los Angeles, is one of just two existing CARB-approved alternatives to shore power.
The comprehensive strategy is expected to reduce more than 3,200 tons per year of greenhouse gases and nearly 28 tons annually of diesel particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and other harmful emissions from operations at the port, equal to taking 14,100 cars off the road.
The total cost of the project is $26.6 million. Pasha has committed $11.4 million, in addition to serving as the demonstration site.
The project plans call for phasing in the new infrastructure and technology by the end of 2016, with zero and near-zero emission equipment subject to the same duty cycles of conventional cargo handling equipment.
Data collection and analysis to track energy efficiency improvements and cost savings are expected to take place over the next two years.
