New Bedford, MA, March 27, 2012 — Work is under way on the first phase of a long-awaited project to make shore power available to boats and reduce diesel emissions on all of the city's fish piers.
Sixteen pedestals will be installed on Steamship Pier and Coal Pocket Pier in the coming weeks. The contractor is the Cullen Electric company of Duxbury.
"They are moving right along. Right now, they're in the process of putting conduits beneath the piers," said Ed Washburn, interim executive director of the Harbor Development Commission. "They hope to be finished sometime in May before the summer season."
Fishing boats tied to the wharves now rely on onboard generators to keep their batteries charged. Reducing that dependence will cut emissions and save the industry money in fuel and other costs, officials say.
"This is an important clean air initiative that will result in cost savings for the fishermen and reduce carbon emissions," New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said.
As efforts to upgrade the harbor's infrastructure continue, the city in July 2010 secured a $1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fund the work on Steamship Pier and the adjacent Coal Pocket Pier.
"That money came from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act," Washburn said. A study undertaken prior to the work concluded that when all 42 of the planned shore power pedestals are installed, there will be a reduction of approximately 310,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually, the equivalent of about 3,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
When the project is complete, there will be six pedestals on Homer's Wharf, 12 on Leonard's Wharf and eight on Fisherman's Wharf, in addition to those on Steamship Pier and Coal Pocket Pier.