The Port of Bellingham has received a $1.5 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Ports Climate and Air Quality Planning Program grant. This federal funding will be used to advance several key goals from the Port’s Climate Action Strategy, including prioritizing areas for the transition to alternative energy and identifying specific measures to reduce maritime industry and Port operations greenhouse gas emissions.
“This grant is another big win for Whatcom County,” said Port Executive Director Rob Fix. “The Port has secured well over $75 million in state and federal grants over the past two years and this latest grant will help prioritize climate-related projects as we move forward with major investments to modernize Whatcom County’s economic development and transportation infrastructure.”
The Port of Bellingham was one of four Washington Ports to receive a U.S. EPA Clean Ports Climate and Air Quality Planning Grant.
The Port adopted a Climate Action Strategy in 2023 to address the urgent challenges of climate change, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting waterfront infrastructure at risk from sea level rise and storm events. The Clean Ports Climate and Air Quality Planning Program grant will provide additional data to prioritize climate-related investments, expand Whatcom County’s emissions inventory, and help Port customers better understand green technology alternatives and grant funding opportunities.
At Squalicum Harbor, the Port will use the grant to evaluate opportunities for alternative fuel infrastructure, electrification and renewable energy production. At the Bellingham Cruise Terminal and other Fairhaven properties, the Port will use the grant to evaluate opportunities for electrification and decarbonization strategies.
The Clean Ports grant will also support the ongoing modernization of the Bellingham Shipping Terminal, one of the Port’s largest potential job creating assets. The Port recently secured over $8 million in federal grants for a project currently in progress to remove historic contamination, restore navigation depth, repair the main dock, add a mobile barge ramp, and install state-of-the-art environmental controls. Earlier this year, the Port secured a $17.9 million federal grant to reconnect rail to the Shipping Terminal and a $2.8 million state grant to allow cargo vessels to switch off diesel generators and connect to electricity. The Clean Ports grant will provide data to inform the potential development of an on-site energy micro-grid to meet the needs of next generation hybrid and fully electric vessels, like Crowley’s eWolf tugboat. The micro-grid would include large marine batteries made by local manufacturer Corvus Energy charged by the grid and by solar panels on the warehouse roofs.
Reducing emissions from the maritime industry at Port facilities is an important focus of the grant. Vessel emission inventory data will be used to inform the development of Port infrastructure to support zero-emission vessels.
The development of a data-driven and community-influenced Energy Transition Plan will build on the Port’s baseline greenhouse gas emission inventory with additional knowledge from Port tenant and customer activities, including vehicles, equipment and cargo handling.
Workforce opportunities will be another area of focus. The grant will be used to look at regional jobs associated with the transition to clean energy including the potential collaboration with the Northwest Maritime Apprenticeship Program, a Bellingham-based program which helps meet the high demand for skilled marine trades workers.
Community engagement, which may include presentations, flyers and other forms of information catered to target audiences, will keep Whatcom County residents informed as the grant produces information to support sustainable Port operations.
For more Information:
Visit www.portofbellingham.com
