EPA announces $47.6M clean ports investments in Alaska

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

October 30, 2024

The Don Young Port of Alaska was selected to receive $1,934,206, to complete a baseline emissions inventory, assess clean energy alternatives, develop an Energy Transition Plan, evaluate technology deployment scenarios, conduct a safety analysis for hydrogen equipment and workforce planning.

ThePort of Sewardwas selected to receive $45,732,040, to develop vessel shore power, a battery energy storage system and electrical infrastructure upgrades.

The grants are funded by the 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 from U.S. ports and near surrounding communities while promoting good-paying and union jobs that help America's ports thrive.

"Alaska's ports are vital to supporting jobs and communities across the state," said Regional Administrator Casey Sixkiller. "This funding, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, will supercharge efforts to electrify port operations and cleaner, zero-emissions solutions that benefit air quality, surrounding port communities, and help advance our collective efforts to tackle the climate crisis."

"This announcement is big for Seward, and for Alaska," said Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). "The EPA's grantwill reduce emissions, noise, and fuel consumption for vessels in the Port of Seward while bolstering grid stability, lowering energy costs, and promoting community workforce development. I'm proud to have worked with local officials and stakeholders to facilitate these transformative resources for a great project that will deliver benefits for years to come."

"Energy funding for Alaska is always good news!" said Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska). "The Don Young Port of Alaska and Port of Seward are two gateways to Southcentral - investing in their growth will create good-paying union jobs and shore up our supply chain."

"The city of Seward, Alaska is ecstatic about receiving the Clean Ports grant for the electrification of the Port of Seward," saidSeward City Manager Kat Sorensen."Seward is surrounded by wildlife, glaciers, and magnificent landscapes and, because of that, we see continuous visitation from tourists in the summer months. By providing the cruise ships that arrive in Seward shore power, they'll be able to turn off their diesel engines and reduce fuel consumption and related emissions."

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 andfreight 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.

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.