Press Telegram - Feds provide nearly $44 million in grants to reduce truck emissions at Port of Long Beach

Grants totaling nearly $44 million to reduce truck emissions at facilities in the Port of Long Beach were announced on Monday, April 22, by U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach.

The funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation will be give to two companies under the Reduction of Truck Emissions at Port Facilities program under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The funds will go to reducing truck idling and emissions.

Grant recipients and amounts are:

• Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT),  $34.9 million to support the terminal’s Electrification Advancement Project (LEAP). LEAP directly reduces emissions by replacing fossil-fueled trucks and cargo-handling equipment with zero-emission technologies and by improving overall terminal efficiency to minimize truck idling and gate congestion. Project goals are addressing safety; climate change and sustainability; equity and justice; and workforce development, job quality and wealth creation.
• WattEV Inc. in Long Beach, $9.2 million for an innovative model of achieving accelerated emission reductions and the adoption of heavy-duty battery electric vehicles. The WattEV TaaS Deployment (WTD) Project is designed to bridge the accessibility gap between innovative zero-emissions truck technology and independent owner operators, fostering a new generation of clean drayage trucking.

“LBCT already operates the greenest terminal at the port and one of the cleanest in the country,” Garcia said in a telephone interview.

And just about a year ago, he said, WattEV unveiled an electric charging facility for the Port of Long Beach.

The grants, Garcia added, will be a push toward full electrification.

Garcia, the former mayor of Long Beach, joined U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla in June to introduce the Clean Shipping Act of 2023 with the aim of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from all ocean shipping companies that do business with the United States.

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Garcia is the co-chair of the Congressional Ports Caucus. During the time he was mayor, Garcia worked with the Port of Long Beach during an historic surge in cargo during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of the great things is that this (federal) investment is coming back to the region, back to the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,” Garcia said.