If They Can Put Solar Power Here, They Can Put It Anywhere

A bustling, sprawling, 320-acre shipping hub is probably the last place one would expect to see a new, 7.2 megawatt solar power plant, but there it is. At the Port Newark Container Terminal in New Jersey, solar panels have been shoehorned into a tightly packed, high-traffic shipping facility, without disrupting operations or taking up valuable space. So, how did they do it?

More Solar Power, Less Port Pollution

Cleaning up air pollution at US seaports is a monumental task, but a necessary one. Aside from helping to prevent the Earth from experiencing catastrophic climate change, cleaner ports support healthier workers, visitors, and frontline communities, too.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has been running point on port cleanup under its Clean Ports Program, which received a $3 billion shot of adrenaline through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The future of both the funds and the Clean Ports Program is somewhat uncertain these days, but the port clean-up movement itself will survive.

After all, what’s not to like? Facilities like the Port of Newark can cut their utility bills with on-site solar, and they can also earn community relations credits by sharing their excess capacity with the local grid. That’s over and above the significant public health and climate protection benefits.

Solar Power: What’s Not To Like?

The solar firm behind the Port Newark Container Terminal project is Standard Solar. The company took full advantage of its custom engineering resources alongside the modern solar industry’s go-anywhere capability. Instead of relying on standard, ground-mounted solar racks, the firm constructed elevated canopies over active roadways, conserving precious space for truck traffic while contributing a hefty 3.8 megawatts towards the project. Additional canopies were installed over parking lots, and rooftop panels brought the total to 7.2 megawatts.

“This project showcases the ingenuity and adaptability of solar to thrive in even the most complex, space-constrained logistics environments,” emphasized Standard Solar COO Rick Berube in a press statement. The company was also able to construct the entire array with disrupting operations at the facility.

Part of that adaptability involves the now-familiar power purchase agreement, which enables site owners to host renewable energy assets without up-front costs, and without the hassle of operation and maintenance. Under the PPA, Standard Solar owns the solar panels and takes care of upkeep. The project includes 15 EV charging stations for staff at the site. A user-friendly solar dashboard also enables members of the public to see how much energy the solar panels produce, and how much carbon savings they achieve.

“Port Newark Container Terminal (PNCT) is one of the only Container Ports in the World to use part of its active operational footprint (10 acres) that provides a dual purpose, in-terminal solar energy generation by using elevated photovoltaic solar panel canopies,” PNCT notes.

All together, the solar panels now provide about half of the annual electricity demand at the PNCT, with a corresponding cut in emissions of 50%.

The Long Road To Cleaner Ports Is Getting Shorter

As underscored by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, the solar array is the latest step in a longtime port cleanup partnership involving the City of Newark and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey along with PNCT. On its part, Standard Solar anticipates that the new solar project — which earned the “Project of the Year Editor’s Choice Award” from Solar Builder last year — will serve as a model for other ports.

Standard Solar notes that the Editor’s Choice award took into account “significant construction ingenuity around design to accommodate challenges related to the location’s soft soil, high water table and flooding,” conditions that are a common feature among coastal shipping hubs.

“There was additional construction complexity given that the system was situated within one of America’s most active ports and needed to seamlessly integrate with the constant flow of hundreds of vehicles and the daily operations of the port,” the company adds.

Follow The Money: More Solar Power For More US Ports

To the extent that PNCT does catalyze solar development at shipping hubs, there’s more where that came from. Standard Solar is a branch of the leading renewable energy firm Brookfield, and the PNCT facility is a joint venture between two A-list firms with deep pockets, Ports America and Terminal Investment Limited.

The Newark project is not a one-off for TiL. “We are keenly aware of our terminals’ role in decarbonization and are continually reviewing our investment plans to ensure they consider our emissions reduction ambitions and operational efficiency improvement objectives,” TiL observes.

“To reduce indirect emissions, we also aim to have as many of our terminals as possible switch to low carbon electricity,” they add, noting that the transition to electrified and hybrid equipment is under way along with renewable energy projects.

“Our terminal network in strategic locations combined with our expertise means we are well-placed to act as an innovation hub for low- and zero-carbon solutions,” they add for good measure.

Since no mention of the East Coast is complete without a mention of the West Coast, keep an eye on the Port of Los Angeles, which has been engaged in a suite of emissions-reducing projects including a demonstration of a new wave energy harvesting device.

Among other projects, the Port has been fielding electric buses and other EVs for a long time now. Last year they stepped it up a notch with a $25 million electric truck charging program, in partnership with the Port of Long Beach. The Port of Los Angeles has also begun exploring the possibility of installing wireless EV chargers.

The Port of Los Angeles is also way out in front on solar power. A 20-megawatt project is under way on 25 different properties owned by the Port, with 12 megawatts already installed. The system is set up to relay electricity directly into the local utility grid, under the purview of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “The installations are a mix of rooftop, parking lot and underutilized ground-mount site locations,” the Port explains, indicating that it has some land to spare.

Photo (cropped): The Port Newark Container Terminal in New Jersey is now one of the few shipping hubs in the world to use on-site solar power to cut its own emissions (courtesy of Standard Solar).