Port of Cleveland electrifies its path to net zero

The Port of Cleveland has officially begun electrifying its operations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality along Lake Erie. The initiative includes adding charging stations, battery storage, and rooftop solar panels to the port’s main warehouse.

With $94 million in federal funding from the Clean Ports Program, the port is modernizing Warehouse A with roughly two megawatts of solar power, battery storage and charging ports for cargo-handling equipment.

Future phases will introduce shore-power connections, facilitating vessels to cut their engines and plug into cleaner electrical power while at berth. Supporting this shift, Green Marine certified participant Logistec USA, which operates the port’s bulk and general cargo terminals, and Great Lakes Towing Co. will invest in electric equipment, including a crane, forklifts, and two tugboats.

The electrification initiative is a cornerstone of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority’s plan to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The strategy targets the port’s direct Scope 1 emissions and its Scope 2 emissions from energy use. By moving away from diesel-powered equipment and investing in renewable energy, the port aims to maintain operational efficiency while it limits pollutants that have long affected nearby communities.

The port’s efforts are part of a broader Great Lakes collaboration on port electrification. During a regional event hosted by the Electrification Coalition, representatives from the ports of Cleveland, Detroit, as well as Hamilton and Oshawa in Ontario, exchanged plans and discussed shared challenges, such as developing common standards for shore power and coordinating with utilities to meet increasing electricity demands.