The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) marked the replacement of the 100th truck through its Clean Truck Replacement Incentive Program (Clean TRIP) over the July 4th weekend and the 101st last week.
Since Port NOLA launched the Clean TRIP program in 2016, 101 short-haul drayage trucks have been replaced with cleaner burning engines, reducing fine particulate emissions from each truck by 96%, which is equal to taking more than 116,000 cars off the road.
The program offers a 50% (US$35,000 maximum) cost incentive for the voluntary replacement of drayage trucks that service cargo terminals and warehouses within the entirety of Port NOLA's three-parish jurisdiction (Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard).
Clean TRIP is funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ).
Port NOLA has received five competitive grants to date providing truck replacement rebates supporting our local Port trucking industry, helping reduce local air emissions, and increasing reliability and efficiency of on-road movement of freight.
"The ongoing success of the award-winning Clean TRIP initiative highlights the Port of New Orleans’ deep commitment to greening the supply chain," said Brandy D. Christian, Port NOLA president and CEO and CEO of the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad Commission (NOPB).
"As the shipping industry, in general, prioritizes sustainability, Port NOLA and our private partners are staying ahead of the curve by investing in greater sustainability at the second container terminal project in St. Bernard Parish, the Louisiana International Terminal."
The Louisiana International Terminal in Violet, which is in the design and permitting phase, will incorporate the latest green technologies. That includes shore power, allowing vessels to plug in at the dock, eliminating the need to run diesel engines. This can cut local vessel emissions by up to 98%.
Port NOLA noted that operators also plan to invest in an electrified equipment fleet, further reducing local emissions impacts.
Like the Uptown facilities, the Louisiana International Terminal will also be equipped to provide container-on-barge services, which move containers by water rather than road to reduce air emissions.
Port NOLA's current container-on-barge service has reduced more than 11,000 short tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and saved 1 million gallons of diesel fuel. The container-on-barge service moves an average of 30,000 TEUs per year between New Orleans, Port Allen, Memphis and now St. Louis.
Port NOLA said it had been Green Marine Green Port Certified since 2015, and now four major port tenants are also Green Marine certified — a voluntary environmental certification program for the North American maritime industry.