Terminal operator Stevedoring Services of America (SSA) said that the project would remove approximately 1,200 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year from each crane.

“Retrofitting our rubber-tire gantry cranes to battery power produced remarkable results. We’re impressed with the huge drop in emissions from equipment that we regularly use on the marine terminal,”  said Crane Manager Ken Larson.

SSA said that a clean air initiative would result in a 93% reduction in diesel fuel. The older engines used 10 to 13 gallons of diesel fuel per hour, while the hybrids used about three quarters of a gallon per hour, according to Larson.

The latest power plants have small diesel engines used only to charge a crane pack of batteries. Each crane has a housing unit that includes a hybrid generator.

Hybrid generators collect energy when a container is lowered and have greater output than older diesel generators as there is no delay in supplying electricity to the crane.

In addition, 90-foot-tall cranes can lift as much as 1,000 containers a day on and off OICT trucks.

The project to replace 13 diesel-powered rubber gantry cranes with Tier 4 Final hybrid engines was funded by the Air District with $5 million in grant funding as part of the Community Health Protection Program of the Air District.

The first crane was retrofitted in February 2019 and the 13th crane was recently renovated in July 2020.

Maritime Business World