The Biden administration has announced a $3 billion investment through the Clean Ports Program, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to improve America's ports with climate-friendly infrastructure upgrades and to support union jobs.
A total of 55 sites nationwide will benefit from the investment. These ports are critical to the nation's supply chains and employ over 100,000 unionized workers.
Speaking at the Port of Baltimore where a bridge collapse killed six workers last March and wreaked havoc on East Coast shipping for several months, Biden said the money, which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act that was passed in 2022, will promote both clean energy and an estimated 40,000 union jobs as well as 6,500 manufacturing jobs across the country. The grants include $147 million for the Maryland Port Administration to purchase and install zero-emission port equipment, charging infrastructure, and power improvements.
The Port of Baltimore is one of the East Coast's busiest ports, especially for the import and export of vehicles. The port's daily economic impact represents $192 million, which amounts to over $70 billion annually. That's also 13 percent of Maryland's gross domestic product.
[Related: America's EV charging network doubles under Biden-Harris]
Other ports receiving money include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority, ports of Savannah and Brunswick in Georgia, and ports in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Oakland, California.
These ports, Biden said, "keep goods moving - keep the economy strong. And they employ over 100,000 union workers, from Teamsters to longshoremen. But for too long, they've run on fossil fuels and aging infrastructure, putting workers at risk and exposing nearby communities to dangers pollution."
The federal funds, according to the administration, will help with the purchase of "battery-electric and hydrogen-powered human-operated and human-maintained equipment" that will be used to handle cargo and charging infrastructure.
The administration's chief goal is to eliminate over 3 million metric tons of carbon pollution over the course of 10 years from these ports.
