(The Center Square) — The Port of Virginia is set to receive $380 million as part of a nearly $3 billion tranche of federal funding to help the nation’s ports reach net-zero emissions, lawmakers announced this week.
Virginia’s port has the stated goal of achieving carbon-neutral operations by 2040.
Alongside Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner lauded the award made possible through President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which they supported.
“The Port of Virginia is one of the largest and busiest ports on the eastern seaboard, and it’s critical to Virginia’s economy and offshore wind industry,” the lawmakers said. “As the Port of Virginia continues to grow thanks to investments we’re making, we must also ensure we’re reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which result in negative health and environmental impacts for our communities.”
The commonwealth’s port was one of 55 applicants to receive funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program for projects to be implemented over the next three to four years. The program aims to help ports transition to zero-emissions operations, reduce diesel pollution, and make “meaningful community engagement and emissions reduction planning” regular practices in the port industry.
The Port of Virginia received the second-largest funding award through the port’s Zero-Emission Technology Deployment Competition after the Port of Los Angeles, whose anticipated EPA program funding is approximately $411.7 million. California ports were granted the most funding overall, with ZE Tech and other funding opportunity awards totaling over $1 billion.
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2022, made historic investments in clean energy and “[marked] the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation’s history,” according to the White House.
There are differing views on whether the act will add to or reduce the nation’s debt. Several studies have estimated its fiscal costs to the federal budget to be closer to $1 trillion than initially projected.