Port of Bellingham Awarded Shipping Terminal Electrification Grant

Image: Port of Bellingham.

The Port of Bellingham has secured a $2.8 million state grant to electrify operations at the Bellingham Shipping Terminal, the port announced Sept. 3.

Bellingham was among 11 Washington seaports to obtain funding from the state’s $26.5 port electrification grant program.

The project, which the port plans to complete by 2026, would allow vessels docked at the terminal to plug in with shore power. It also builds on a number of modernization projects already in progress, which include fortifying the main dock and deepening the navigation depth to attract a larger range of cargo vessels.

The port previously netted a $17.9 million federal grant to relink rail to the terminal, allowing for cargo to move on more than 32,500 miles of track in 28 states and the Canadian provinces, according to the port.

“Electrification will help the Bellingham Shipping Terminal serve as a clean energy home base for sustainable shipping companies and escort tugs serving local barges and vessels,” the port said, including those on the M-5 Coastal Connector Barge Project, a U.S. Department of Transportation-designated American Marine Highway short sea shipping green corridor to Coos Bay, Ore. and San Diego.

By Karen Robes Meeks