$49M Biden administration grant to cut emissions at Savannah, Brunswick ports

The Georgia ports will receive nearly $49 million for upgrades aimed at moving the massive operations toward a zero-emissions future, White House officials said.

The money, one of 55 projects to be formally announced Tuesday, will pay for systems that will let ships at the ports of Savannah and Brunswick connect with electric grids so they can turn off diesel engines that spew fumes into the air.

All told, about $3 billion in Environmental Protection Agency Clean Ports grants are to be distributed to ports in 27 states. The money was appropriated by President Joe Biden’s signature health and climate bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act.

The investments are intended to improve the air for communities, Michael Regan, EPA administrator, said in a conference call with reporters Monday.

While a lynchpin in the nation’s supply chains, the ports are also a source of pollution for workers and residents of surrounding communities, he said. Swapping out fossil-fuel equipment for battery and hydrogen powered machines will cut the amount of toxic pollution that can cause respiratory and heart trouble.

“It’s also about jobs,” Regan said.

Overall, about 1 million people work at ports and in the maritime industry, according to the American Association of Port Authorities. More than 100,000 of them are union workers, officials said.