Port of San Diego Purchases All-Electric Cranes

The Port of San Diego purchased two all-electric harbor cranes, touted as the first such cranes in use in North America, it was announced Monday.

The Konecranes Gottwald Generation 6 Mobile Harbor Cranes will replace the diesel-powered crane currently in use at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal. They are intended to support the port's Maritime Clean Air Strategy and its "Health Equity for All" vision.

The port anticipates receiving and putting the cranes into operation in mid-2023. In January, the Board of Port Commissioners authorized a purchase agreement with Germany-based Konecranes, which has an office in San Diego. According to port documents, the final cost for the cranes will be around $14 million, budgeted in the port's Economic Recovery Program established for the $100 million in federal stimulus funds the port anticipates receiving in total from the federal and state governments for COVID-19 relief. The port has already received $61.4 million from those sources.

"We have designated a significant portion of our federal stimulus funds to electrification — about $25 million — for zero-emission equipment just like the all-electric cranes from Konecranes," said Dan Malcolm, chairman of the port board. "This is just the start of us delivering on our promise to do our part in improving air quality and public health. It's also an excellent example of how we can meet our clean air and environmental goals while supporting business and job growth."

The port's clean air strategy has a goal of 100% zero-emission cargo handling equipment by 2030.

According to a port statement, in addition to the environmental and public health benefits, the new crane system will have the heaviest lift capability of any crane system in place on the West Coast -- up to 400 metric tons compared to the 100 MT lifting capacity of the current diesel crane.