EPA Announces More Than $95 Million in Clean Ports Investments to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency as Part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda

EPA Announces More Than $95 Million in Clean Ports Investments to Illinois Environmental Protection Agency as Part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Investing in America Agenda

EPA's Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission port equipment, infrastructure, and planning projects across the nation to tackle climate change, reduce air pollution, promote good jobs, and advance environmental justice

October 29, 2024

Today, October 29, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has been selected to receive two grants totaling $95,056,006 through EPA's Clean Ports Programto support the deployment of battery-electric drayage trucks and sustainable cargo handling equipment as well as the development of a greenhouse gas emissions inventory.

The equipment to support hydrogen and battery-electric charging infrastructure will be deployed across several ports in Illinois. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency commits to reducing the number of polluting vehicles at the ports by scrapping existing diesel equipment. IEPA will also purchase and install solar generation systems and battery storage systems to help support the electrification load. This initiative will reduce the impacts of unhealthy and burdensome emissions on disadvantaged communities through the purchase of zero-emission equipment, community engagement, and workforce development.

IEPA has also been selected to receive a Climate and Air Quality Planning Grant to develop a greenhouse gas emissions inventory and set emissions reduction goals for thousands of vehicles at Illinois Waterway Ports and Terminals Port. Expected activities include recommending strategies for resiliency and community development as well as guidance on workforce development opportunities.

The grants are funded by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act - the largest investment in combating climate change and promoting clean energy in history - and will advance environmental justice by reducing diesel air pollution in U.S. ports and surrounding communities while promoting good-paying and union jobs that help America's ports thrive.

"Our nation's ports are critical to creating opportunity here in America, offering good-paying jobs, moving goods, and powering our economy," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "Today's historic $3 billion investment builds on President Biden's vision of growing our economy while ensuring America leads in globally competitive solutions of the future. Delivering cleaner technologies and resources to U.S. ports will slash harmful air and climate pollution while protecting people who work in and live nearby ports communities.

"I'm thrilled that Illinois continues to benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act, including with this federal funding through EPA's Clean Ports Program," said Sen. Dick Durbin. "This program is critical in facilitating the port sector's transition to zero-emissions operations while ensuring meaningful community engagement and emissions reduction planning. Zero-emission port infrastructure will create clean energy jobs, reduce pollutants, and deliver cleaner air in near-port communities while helping Illinois combat the climate crisis."

"Our ports play a critical role in maintaining Illinois's status as a major commerce hub," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth. "Today's announcement, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, will help ensure that Illinois ports have the resources they need to increase operations and improve their infrastructure, as well as reduce carbon emissions into surrounding communities. I was proud to support EPA's Clean Ports Program and will continue working to secure investments that help us rebuild our infrastructure and strengthen our state's competitive economic edge."

"Illinois - with its navigable waterways, access to Lake Michigan, and multiple ports - is critical to our infrastructure and supply chain. We must prioritize clean air and water to continue optimizing Illinois' natural waterways and to protect public health in surrounding communities," said Rep. Robin Kelly. "I'm grateful for the Biden-Harris Administration $92 million investment in the Illinois International Port, which is in the Second District. As we move toward zero-emission port equipment and reduce diesel pollution, we create a better earth for our children and future generations."

"The State of Illinois is proud to partner with public ports to advance the electrification of freight movement across the state," said Illinois EPA Director James Jennings. "Through funding for zero-emission locomotives, trucks, tractors, forklifts, and more, these infrastructure and planning awards will complement the state's efforts to transition to 100% clean energy by 2050."

Ports are vital to the U.S. economy and are responsible for moving goods and people throughout the country. At the same time, the port and freight equipment responsible for moving goods including trucks, locomotives, marine vessels, and cargo-handling equipment contribute to significant levels of diesel air pollution at and near port facilities. This pollution is especially harmful to nearby communities' health and contributes to climate change. The funds announced today will improve air quality at ports across the country by installing clean, zero-emission freight and ferry technologies along with associated infrastructure, eliminating more than 3 million metric tons of carbon pollution, equivalent to 391,220 homes' energy use for one year.

In February 2024, EPA announced two separate funding opportunities for U.S. ports - a Zero-Emission Technology Deployment Competition to directly fund zero-emission equipment and infrastructure to reduce mobile source emissions and a Climate and Air Quality Planning Competition to fund climate and air quality planning activities. The competitions closed in May 2024 with over $8 billion in requests from applicants across the country seeking to advance next-generation, clean technologies at U.S. ports.

After a thorough and rigorous grant application review process, EPA selected 55 applications in total to receive this historic investment. Applications to the Clean Ports Program were evaluated in part on their workforce development efforts, to ensure that projects will expand access to high-quality jobs. Grant selections also align with the Administration's national goal for a zero-emission freight sector, the National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization and the 'all-of government' National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy.

Selected projects cover a wide range of human-operated and human-maintained equipment used at and around ports, with funds supporting the purchase of zero-emission equipment, including over 1,500 units of cargo handling equipment, 1,000 drayage trucks, 10 locomotives, and 20 vessels, as well as shore power systems, battery-electric and hydrogen vehicle charging and fueling infrastructure, and solar power generation.

Initial estimates of tailpipe reductions from this new equipment are estimated to be over 3 million metric tons of CO₂, 12,000 short tons of NO_x, and 200 short tons of PM_2.5 in the first 10 years of operation. These estimates are based on initial counts of proposed zero-emission equipment and shore power installations and do not consider benefits from retiring older vehicles, among other factors. These simplified estimates were prepared using national default emissions and activity factors and will be refined over time with more detailed information from selectees.

In addition to protecting human health and the environment, the program will protect and grow good-paying and union port jobs, create new good-paying and union jobs in the domestic clean energy sector, and enhance U.S. economic competitiveness through the innovation, installation, maintenance, and operation of zero-emissions equipment and infrastructure. The program's historic investment in zero-emission port technology will also help promote and ensure the U.S. position as a global leader in clean technologies.

EPA's Clean Ports Program advances President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Disadvantaged communities will benefit from cleaner air and access to high quality jobs that will be created to operate zero emissions technologies at ports.

EPA ensured that near-port community engagement and equity considerations were at the forefront of the Clean Ports Program's design, including by evaluating applications on the extent and quality of their projects' community engagement efforts. The program will also help to ensure that meaningful community engagement and emissions reduction planning become a part of port industry standard practices by building on the successes of EPA's Ports Initiative and the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act programs. These programs have previously invested over $196 million to implement 207 diesel emissions reduction projects at ports with an additional $88 million to multi-sector projects that involve ports and have encouraged strong community-port collaboration.

The agency anticipates making awards once all legal, statutory, and administrative requirements are satisfied. Selectees will work with EPA over the coming months to finalize project plans before receiving final awards and moving into the implementation phase. Project implementation will occur over the next three to four years depending on the scope of each project.

To learn more about the Clean Ports Program tentatively selected applications, please visit the Clean Ports Program Selections webpage.

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