Page 21 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 5 - 2024

joined Gov. Wes Moore and other
federal, state and local officials at
the Port of Baltimore to celebrate
On Oct. 29, President Joseph R. Biden
more than $147 million in federal
funding to create good-paying, clean
jobs and to expedite decarbonization
and electrification efforts at the Port.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded
the funding to the Port of Baltimore through its $3 million
Clean Ports Program, created under President Biden’s
Inflation Reduction Act.
The event came just one day after the Port announced it
had begun double-stack rail service.
Part of the Howard Street Tunnel Project, the significant
milestone is critical to making Maryland more competitive,
opening new opportunities for intermodal rail service in
the Northeast and from the Port of Baltimore to Midwest
markets, generating thousands of new jobs, and delivering
critical benefits to the region months earlier than expected.
Photography by Bill McAllen
Funding Allows Port to Be Both
Competitive and Sustainable
“In Maryland, we aren’t going to choose between building
a competitive state and a sustainable one — we will do
both at the same time,” said Gov. Moore. “In partnership
with the Biden-Harris Administration, we are investing in
the Port of Baltimore and electrifying the way to a greener,
cleaner and healthier future with a strong economy and
good-paying jobs.”
The Port of Baltimore generates about 20,300 direct
jobs, with more than 273,000 jobs overall linked to Port
activities. The funding will enable the Maryland Port
Administration (MPA) and its private partners to purchase
213 pieces of new zero-emission vehicles, equipment and
charging infrastructure that will replace old, inefficient diesel
combustion engines.
The funding will also pay for capacity upgrades to the
Port’s electrical grid, which will help significantly reduce
greenhouse gas emissions with an estimated 35% decrease
in carbon dioxide equivalency compared to 2020 levels.
“These improvements will provide an immediate
impact to the people who live and work around the Port of
Baltimore and who have borne the brunt of transportation-
related health impacts,” said Maryland Department of
Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld. “Thanks to the
EPA’s grants, the Port of Baltimore and its partners are
accelerating their collective efforts to support Maryland’s
climate goal of reaching net zero by 2045.”
Gov. Wes Moore lauded the investment in Port jobs as an example of
building an economy that is both competitive and sustainable.
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