A nearly $95 million dollar federal grant is intended to help the Port of Cleveland toward reducing its carbon emissions.
The grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is the largest the port's ever received through the agencies Clean Ports Program, according to a release.
Investments in projects like an expanded solar networks, solar energy storage and new electric cargo equipment will help the Port meet its decarbonization goals, Port of Cleveland President and CEO Will Friedman said.
"That gets us to a 40% reduction in our carbon emissions through this through this project alone," he said. "We're trying to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, so this gives us a really strong start on that goal."
The port outlined its decarbonization goals in its Climate Action Plan adopted in 2023.
The port will also adopt some newer technology, including two electric tugboats through its partnership with Great Lakes Towing.
"Electrifying these very large machines that can move steel coils or pick up containers or even heavier pieces of cargo, they are just really starting to come to the market," Friedman said. "The manufacturers, both in the U.S. and outside the U.S., are, I think sort of gangbusters to ramp up production of these machines that have electric motors in them and can be recharged and may have batteries that can be interchanged."
Construction will take between five to six years, Friedman said, and emission reductions are expected around that same time. The port conducted two rounds of emissions inventories in 2018 and 2022 that will serve as the baseline as these new technologies get up and running.
The emissions reduction could draw more customers, Friedman said benefitting the local economy.
"For truckers who haul freight in and out of the ports up and down the supply chain, it's kind of a multiplier effect when there's more cargo," he said. "So, if we become more efficient, if we become more attractive to users, then, you know, it's good for the economy."
Decarbonization is more commonplace for ports on the east and west coasts, Friedman said, but Cleveland is leader in the Great Lakes Region.
"We're really ... out at the forefront, even when you compare us to some of the really big coastal ports, the big container ports or some of the big ports down in the Gulf of Mexico," he said. "We are definitely at the forefront."
The Port of Cleveland announced Monday that Friedman will step down as president and CEO at the end of the year due to lack of agreement over a new contract, according to a press release. Friedman has served as president and CEO for the last 14 years.
The transition to new leadership will not effect the port's decarbonization commitments, Friedman said.
"It's really embedded into our strategic plan, and, you know, we're we're very committed with this grant and the work already underway here," he said. "There's a lot of momentum and happy happy to be able to turn the port over to somebody who can keep keep, keep us moving in that direction."
