The Port of Detroit will have electric equipment thanks to EPA grant

Nov 02, 2024

The Port of Detroit will receive nearly $22 million for new pollution-cutting equipment thanks to a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Ports Program, which is aimed at improving air quality at ports throughout the country.

The EPA granted the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority $21,905,782 for electric cargo handling equipment, vessels, railcar movers, charging infrastructure and solar generation, the agency announced Wednesday. The agency also selected the port authority for a $3 million grant to develop an emissions reduction plan.

The port authority and community environmental group Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision have a plan to zero out the port's carbon emissions by 2040. It hinges on first embracing biofuels, seen as a cheaper "drop-in" replacement for fossil fuels, and then incorporating machinery run on renewable power.

The new equipment funded by the EPA grant will improve the air quality in neighborhoods around the port, Mark Schrupp, Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority Executive Director, said in a news release.

The planning grant will "help us chart a course for the roll-out of green hydrogen and other zero-emission fuels to power ships and move cargo throughout the port," he said. "It will also help ensure that our residents are ready and trained for the new technology and jobs."

The EPA also granted the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy $3 million for a climate and air quality planning grant to be used at ports throughout the state.

The $3 million grant will allow EGLE to launch the "MI Clean Ports Program," which will provide grants and help to ports for activities such as emissions inventories, community engagement, workforce development and planning.

"The MI Clean Ports Program will help Michigan’s ports and port communities become more sustainable," EGLE Director Phil Roos said in the release. "Michigan's unmatched water resources literally define our state, giving all Michiganders a unique responsibility to steward them."

The Clean Ports Program funding came from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Lawmakers from across southeast Michigan including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib praised the funding in the EPA's Tuesday announcement.

“I am grateful for this critical investment for the Port of Detroit from the Inflation Reduction Act," Tlaib said in a statement. "This is an important step towards reducing emissions in Detroit’s frontline communities and building green jobs in Southeast Michigan. We know that our families have the right to breathe clean air."

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers, an intergovernmental organization of Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces, studied ways to cut pollution from the region's maritime industry for roughly six years. It determined smaller ships, such as ferries, that have short, predictable routes are good candidates for being powered by electric batteries.

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