Port of San Diego prepares to power North America’s first all-electric mobile harbour cranes

The Port of San Diego accepted a $2.7-million grant from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District on September 14th towards partially funding the electrical upgrades required to power two new all-electric mobile harbour cranes.

First of their kind in North America, the new cranes will improve air quality in portside communities when they replace two old diesel cranes at the port’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal next summer. Funding through California Climate Investments and the state-wide Community Air Protection Program will ensure the port has clean and reliable power to run the new cargo-handling equipment.

The Port of San Diego Board of Commissioners has furthermore authorized the use of approximately $1.9 million of the port’s Low Carbon Fuel Standards credit proceeds to fund additional electrification projects and approved an $8.9-million contract with Leed Electric, Inc. to make the required electrical infrastructure improvements.

Earlier this year, the port spent $14 million to buy the two all-electric Konecranes Gottwald Generation 6 Mobile Harbor Cranes. The conversion from diesel-powered cranes to an all-electric crane system is a huge step toward achieving the port’s Maritime Clean Air Strategy goal of having 100% zero-emission cargo handling equipment by 2030, ahead of California Air Resources Board regulations.

In addition to improving the environment and public health, the new equipment will have the heaviest lift capability of any crane system currently in place on the West Coast. The cranes will facilitate the port attracting new business opportunities by quadrupling the port’s maximum lift capacity to 400 metric tons.