The Port of Long Beach Unveils $57.4 Million Incentive Programs for Emissions Reduction

The Port of Long Beach is set to unpack two new incentive programs worth $57.4 million to speed up emissions reductions by supporting the purchase of zero-emissions cargo-handling equipment and ‘cleaner’ harbor craft.

As disclosed on February 28 this year, the funding for the program is part of System-Wide Investment in Freight Transport (SWIFT), an initiative that aims to bolster port modernization, ‘boost’ the product movement efficiency, and minimize environmental impacts on neighboring communities.

The effort is said to be bankrolled by the California State Transportation Agency’s (CalSTA) “Port and Freight Infrastructure” program, which, per CalSTA, seeks to ‘enhance’ the capacity, safety, efficiency and resilience of product transport to, from, and through the Golden State’s ports, while also slashing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollution, public health impacts and negative economic effects on communities adjacent to the corridors and facilities used for the movement of said goods.

As explained, this round of funding is equally split between the zero-emission terminal transformation and harbor craft business continuity and emission reduction efforts, whereby:

• $28.7 million in incentives is planned to be allocated for buying zero-emission cargo handling equipment and battery-electric CHE charging equipment; the Port of Long Beach has noted that all cargo handling equipment being tested must be operated manually;
• $28.7 million has been set aside to support upgrades that meet “advanced” environmental standards for harbor craft.

As part of its Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), the Port of Long Beach aims to achieve zero-emissions terminal operations by 2030 and zero-emissions trucking by 2035.

In September 2023, the port shared that it had achieved ‘significant’ emission reductions and that, by extension, it was “well on track” to meet its climate neutrality ambitions.

Specifically, the port revealed in its annual emissions inventory report that, compared to 2005, diesel particulates were down by as much as 91%, nitrogen oxides (NOx) had plunged by 63%, sulfur oxides (SOx) had decreased by 97%, while cargo container volume had gone up by 36%.

The report came just two months after California announced a ‘landmark’ grant amounting to a staggering $1.5 billion. It encompassed around $450 million for zero-emission infrastructure, locomotives, vessels, and vehicles. It is understood that the grant was awarded as part of the state’s work to build ‘a more efficient, sustainable, and resilient supply chain.’

As part of this financing, the Californian port secured $383.35 million to complete a series of construction and clean-air technology projects to accelerate the transformation to zero-emissions operations and ‘raise’ the reliability and efficiency of cargo movement.

In addition to this, it was disclosed that nearly $225 million from the state’s “Port and Freight Infrastructure” program would cover a range of zero-emissions cargo-moving equipment and infrastructure initiatives at the Port of Long Beach, including “top handlers”, other manually operated cargo-handling equipment, tugboats, and locomotives.

With a $760 million budget approved for the 2025 fiscal year by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, the port’s representatives expect to drive the decarbonization endeavors further. As elaborated, the budget is 19.5% higher than last year, largely due to infrastructure projects like the Pier B on-dock rail support facility, dubbed “America’s Green Highway”.

The project – which began construction in 2024 and is anticipated to be wrapped up in 2032—reportedly has the potential to ‘expedite’ deliveries across the entire national supply chain, ease congestion, and lessen environmental impacts.