The Northwest Seaport Alliance has welcomed the first all-electric yard handling equipment to its gateway via the arrival of six electric cargo trucks to the South Intermodal Yard in Tacoma, the Alliance revealed March 3.
Each electric yard truck is being used to move containers on chassis to and from container stacks and rail cars. Electricity is not only cleaner than traditional diesel equipment, the NWSA said, but has operational advantages such as being less expensive to operate and requiring less maintenance due to fewer moving parts.
Funding for the SIM Electric Truck Project came from Tacoma Power, Rail Management Services and Diesel Reduction Act grant funds. The investment includes six electric yard trucks, which are to be used to move cargo on chassis to and from container stacks and rail cars, NWSA.
The project is expected to lower GHGs by about 259 tons annually and diesel particulate matter by 1.41 tons annually in the Seattle-Tacoma gateway per year, according to the Alliance.
“Partnerships like this move our community forward toward a clean energy future,” Tacoma Power manager Clay Norris said. “Transportation is the top polluter in our region, and we can help combat that by transitioning the fueling of vehicles to our clean, renewable hydroelectric energy.”