The Biden Administration just announced a $3 billion package to make US ports more climate-friendly, and $322 million of that is going to the Port of Oakland to buy clean-energy, electric- and hydrogen-powered cargo handling systems.  

We all remember watching in shock when a cargo ship rammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in late March, killing six maintenance workers and halting operations at the Port of Baltimore for nearly three months. The bridge itself has not yet been rebuilt. But President Biden popped in to the Port of Baltimore Tuesday to announce his administration was awarding $3 billion in grants to modernize US ports, including nearly $150 million for the Maryland Port Authority to rebuild that bridge, but with even more money heading right here to the Bay Area.  

That AP report notes that the grant money is going to 55 ports in 27 US states to modernize their facilities and reduce their fossil fuel emissions. The report notes that the money is going to ports like New York, New Jersey, Detroit, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Oakland, though it does not say how much of that funding is going to the Port of Oakland.

But an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement does say how much is coming to Oakland, and for what exactly that money will be used.

“The Port Department of the City of Oakland has been selected to receive an anticipated $322,167,584 to purchase and deploy zero-emission technology at the Port of Oakland in California,” the EPA says in a press release. “Project activities include the deployment of electric and hydrogen cargo handling equipment, drayage trucks, charging infrastructure, and a battery energy storage system, and the scrappage of a portion of the existing diesel fleet. The project includes community engagement activities, workforce training on zero-emission equipment, and efforts to expand access to high-quality jobs in near-port communities.”

So where is this $3 billion going to come from? Congress already approved it in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which invested billions in “clean energy, climate mitigation and resilience, agriculture, and conservation-related investment programs.”

Once installed, the EPA says this new climate-friendly equipment will eliminate three million metric tons of carbon pollution annually, or the equivalent of powering nearly 400,000 homes per year.

Related: Port of Oakland Lithium Battery Fire Sent Plumes of Black Smoke Over the Bay Sunday [SFist]

Image: BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 29: U.S. President Joe Biden takes the stage to speak on his administration's Investing in America agenda at the Port of Baltimore on October 29, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. Biden announced a $3 billion investment from his Inflation Reduction Act in Environmental Protection Agency Clean Ports grants, including $147 million in awards for the Maryland Port Administration. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)