Anchors Away for Microgrids: National Lab Releases Guide to Port Electrification

More than 2 billion short tons of cargo flow through U.S. ports each year, even during supply chain restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the United States Department of Transportation, these containers account for nearly 40% of the global cargo value.

These volumes make decarbonization both a challenge and a priority, energy transition experts say. According to the PNNL handbook, the benefits of port and fleet electrification include improved air and water quality, noise reduction, long-term savings, critical infrastructure resilience and energy independence.

The document notes that challenges include equipment availability, upfront costs, utility coordination, labor impacts and electricity supply. With many ports seriously pursuing electrification, planners are increasingly turning to on-site microgrids to offset resource and electricity supply constraints at the utility level.

Earlier this week, logistics company Prologis and its Maersk partner Performance Team launched a heavy-duty charging station near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are among the nation’s busiest freight facilities. The charging station is powered by a large microgrid that includes 2.75 MW flexible fuel linear generators and 18 MWh battery capacity.

The Port of Long Beach is busy on several electrification fronts at the facility. Toyota’s vehicle processing plant is now entirely powered by local renewable energy, including a biogas-to-hydrogen system.

Schneider Electric is working with the same port on a $12.2 million microgrid project.

The PNNL handbook points out that microgrids are essential to moving electrification projects for a number of reasons.

“Transient disruptions to the main power system may interrupt power to the electrified port, which will impact port operations,” the document reads. “Microgrids not only provide a backup source of energy for mission-critical facilities, but can also be used to maintain operations during shorter outages or enable a limited set of disaster recovery.”

The Port Electrification Handbook points out that the initial investment costs for microgrids and other equipment can be high. However, in the long run, electrification can result in significant savings because electrical equipment is often more energy efficient and can reduce operating costs in the long run.

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