Photo courtesy of the Port of Long Beach.
The Port of Long Beach (POLB) announced Wednesday that it will launch a new program offering its tenants rebates to encourage them to replace outdated, polluting and inefficient electrical equipment with energy-efficient technology.
The Energy Efficiency Rebate Match Program, approved earlier this month by the Board of Harbor Commissioners, creates a pool of $500,000 to reimburse tenants up to 100 percent for their equipment purchase costs, according to the announcement. The port’s rebates would match Southern California Edison rebates for eligible energy-saving equipment and are capped at the total cost of the products.
“With Earth Day coming soon, April is the perfect month to start talking about this program,” stated Board of Harbor Commissioners President Lori Ann Guzmán. “As we build the Green Port of the Future in Long Beach, it’s our responsibility to encourage the use of the newest, most efficient equipment.”
In January 2015, POLB CEO Jon Slangerup introduced the Energy Island Initiative, a forward-thinking strategy for transitioning the port to sustainable, zero-emission power sources and self-generation systems, according to the release. The initiative seeks to increase the port’s resilience by enabling it to “island” operations independently from the grid, in the case of an emergency. It will also stabilize power costs for terminal operations, to further reduce the POLB’s carbon footprint and increase its competitive edge for conducting business in Long Beach.
The rebate program is essential to achieving the aforementioned goals by improving energy-related efficiencies, which reduce the amount of self-generated electricity required for Energy Island. Each port tenant is eligible for up to $50,000 in rebates.
Port staff will host a rebate program workshop for tenants from 8:30AM to 10:00AM on Thursday, May 5, at the POLB Maintenance Facility located at 725 Harbor Plaza. For more information, contact Manager of Sustainable Practices Christine Houston by calling 562.283.7108 or emailing program staff at [email protected].
Earth Day is April 22. For more information about the port’s environmental initiatives, click here.