HOUSTON — Texas ports will receive a portion of nearly $3 billion investment from President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to boost climate-friendly equipment and infrastructure.
President Joe Biden announced the federal funding Tuesday during a visit to Baltimore's main port. The funding comes from his Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law passed in 2022 designed to fight climate change and advance clean energy across the U.S.
The nearly $3 billion is part of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Ports program and will go to 55 ports across 27 states. The goal is to improve and electrify port infrastructure while supporting an estimated 40,000 union jobs, reducing pollution, and combating the climate crisis.
What types of upgrades will be made with grants from Clean Ports program?
Ports in Texas will receive nearly $110 million from this investment.
Port Houston will receive a $2,983,457 grant to help with:
- Emission inventory.
- Emissions reduction strategy analysis including truck route analysis, infrastructure cost assessment, climate action planning, and developing a performance measurement framework.
- Stakeholder collaboration with communities, trucking industry, and workforce.
- Resiliency planning.
Further south, Port Freeport will receive a $1,487,000 grant to help with:
- Emissions inventory.
- Port resiliency and implementation plan and electrical feasibility analysis.
- Comprehensive near-port community benefits and workforce plan.
The Port of Corpus Christi will receive the largest grant at $105,000,000 to help with:
- Electric cargo handling equipment, locomotives, and vessels
- Charging infrastructure
- Vessel shore power
An investment is also being made in North Texas with the city of Wilmer receiving $2,999,649 for the Dallas Intermodal Terminal. The funding is for:
- Emissions inventory.
- Emissions reduction strategy, including development of specific emissions reduction targets for heavy-duty vehicles.
- Community engagement meetings and door-to-door canvassing to provide updates and receive input.
What is emissions inventory?
According to the EPA, an emissions inventory is a database that lists, by source, the amount of air pollutants discharged into the atmosphere during a year or other time period.
Governments use this data to target regulatory actions to reduce significant sources of air pollutants. They also use this to identify trends and to raise awareness.
How does Clean Ports program help communities near ports?
The new funding will help ports and communities across the country cut operating costs and keep consumer prices down, "while slashing carbon pollution and supporting an estimated 40,000 new, good-paying jobs to support clean energy manufacturing all across America,'' Biden said Tuesday.
“This is about environmental justice,'' he added, citing studies that show higher childhood asthma, cancer and lung and heart disease in residents who live near U.S. ports.
The grants are funded by Biden's landmark climate law approved in 2022, the largest investment in clean energy in U.S. history.
Funding through the Clean Ports program will slash more than 3 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to energy use by nearly 400,000 homes for one year, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. It also will cut 12,000 short tons of nitrogen oxides and other harmful pollutants, he said.
John Podesta, senior White House adviser for international climate policy, said the grants will help fulfill a promise by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to “rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and tackle the climate crisis ... and uplift the communities who’ve borne the brunt of pollution."