Electrifying Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal

WASHINGTON – Friends of the Earth released an analysis by Eastern Research Group (ERG) today on electrical shore power at the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal. The analysis shows that if container ships at the port used grid-based electrical shore power instead of marine diesel fuel, it would substantially reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. This study shows that fine particulates, acid-forming and smog-forming emissions from container ships at Garden City Terminal could be cut by 53%, 55%, and 98%, respectively, if ships were to “plug in” to the grid while dockside.   

Despite the Georgia Port Authority’s plans to double container volumes and expand operations at the Port of Savannah over the next ten years, they have no blueprint to reduce port-associated emissions, including air pollutants from ships.                                                                         

John Kaltenstein, Senior Policy Analyst at Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement in response:

Without an updated emissions inventory or a strategy to reduce air emissions, the Georgia Port Authority is unprepared for the future. All ports must work to reduce pollution, and shore power is a proven way to reduce ship emissions at berth.

Instead of focusing solely on economic objectives, the Georgia Port Authority should consider the health and well-being of surrounding communities. We urge the GPA to mitigate the impacts of its air pollution by implementing shore power and other measures in the near-term.

Contact: John Kaltenstein, Senior Policy Analyst, (510) 900-3142, [email protected]
Erin Jensen, Press Officer, (202) 222-0722, [email protected]