The Port of San Diego has received a pair of 400 tonne (440 ton) electric Konecranes. The port now boasts the highest lifting capacity of any crane system on the West Coast with a dramatic upgrade from the 100 tonne lifting capacity of the diesel cranes they replace!
The Port spent nearly $14 million on a pair of all-electric Gottwald Generation 6 mobile harbor cranes from Konecranes, plus an additional $8.9 million to make the necessary electrical infrastructure improvements to support their operation. Those make-ready upgrades were enabled by $2.7 million in grants from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (SDAPCD), part of a larger initiative to decarbonize the Port of San Diego’s operations and reduce air pollution throughout the community.
“These all-electric mobile harbour cranes are a game changer for public health, the environment and our regional economy. It’s win, win, win,” explains Chairman Rafael Castellanos of the Board of Harbour Commissioners of the Port of San Diego. “By replacing our diesel-powered cargo handling equipment with electric equipment, such as these cranes, we continue to ensure that the air in and around the terminal is cleaner to breathe, reduce our environmental impacts and fulfil our responsibility to support commerce and jobs. in our region.”
The cranes arrived at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal (TAMT) earlier this month, and are expected to be operational later this year. TAMT operates as an omni-directional cargo terminal consisting of a 38.85-hectare facility and handles breakbulk, bulk, and container cargo.
Electrek’s Take
Whenever you have a jaw-droppingly huge electric vehicle moving thousands of tons of material and cargo a day, you can be sure every stevedore, dock worker, and equipment operator involved is going to be impressed. Especially when they find out the big electric crane pack four times the power of the diesel it replaces.
That’s how you move the adoption needle, kids.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Konecranes; Port of San Diego, via Seatrade Maritime News.