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Title: Electrifying ports to reduce diesel pollution from ships and trucks and benefit public health: Case studies of the Port of Seattle and the Port of New York and New Jersey

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2023

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Abstract: The Port of Seattle and the Port of New York and New Jersey (NY/NJ) are key hubs serving international and domestic shipping in the United States. To reduce port emissions, both are investing in electrification, including by installing shore power and setting goals for 100% zero-emission harbor craft and trucks. By combining a series of simple, user-friendly tools, this study estimates how port electrification could reduce emissions and how that would benefit the surrounding regions in terms of air quality and public health. We combined ICCT's global Port Emissions Inventory Tool (goPEIT) with our Systematic Assessment of Vessel Emissions (SAVE) model to estimate the emissions from ocean-going vessels (OGVs), harbor craft, and drayage trucks in 2019. We used the area of each port's jurisdiction as the boundaries and together these were the baseline results. We then modeled the emissions in a "full electrification" scenario that assumed 100% shore power connection for OGVs while at berth in ports and 100% electrification of harbor craft and trucks. The baseline and full electrification scenario results were then put into the Intervention model for Air Pollution (InMAP), an open-source, reduced-complexity model that estimates the air quality and health impacts of emissions on nearby regions. We found that, at both ports, OGVs dominated total emissions and were more than 50% of carbon dioxide (CO 2), particulate matter (PM 2.5), and nitrogen oxides (NO x) emissions from OGVs, harbor craft, and drayage trucks in 2019. With full electrification, we estimated total PM 2.5 emissions reductions of 75% and 69% for Seattle and NY/NJ, respectively. Of all electrification technologies, electrifying harbor craft alone could reduce PM2.5 emissions for Seattle and NY/NJ by over 40% and 25%, respectively. In the full electrification scenario, the annual average PM2.5 concentration near the Port of Seattle would be reduced by 0.3–0.42 μg/m3, a considerable amount in light of Seattle’s annual average PM2.5 concentration of 7.5 μg/m3 in 2019. In addition, the total area affected by emissions from the Port of Seattle would be reduced from 292.1 km2 to 54.5 km2. With full electrification, the area near the Port of NY/NJ would also benefit greatly, with the City of Elizabeth seeing the highest air quality improvement of 0.82 μg/ m3 annual average PM2.5 concentration reduction, and Jersey City achieving a 0.59 μg/m3 annual average PM2.5 concentration reduction. The total area affected by emissions from the Port of NY/NJ would be reduced from 2,172.3 km2 to 504.5 km2. Air quality improvement near the Port of Seattle under the full electrification scenario is estimated to provide monetized health benefits of over $27 million annually. For the Port of NY/NJ, air quality improvement is expected to translate to at least $150 million of health benefits per year. This kind of quantification can help various ports apply for funding to support port electrification under programs like the U.S. Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program and others that have received funding increases under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Url: https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Ports-electrification-US_final.pdf

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Authors: Meng, Zhihang; Comer, Bryan

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Publication Number: 2023-05

Institution: International Council on Clean Transportation

Pages: 1-19

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Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Methodology and Data Collection, Natural Resource Management

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