The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) announced progress on the Louisiana International Terminal in St. Bernard Parish, as well as investment in shore power facilities.
Namely, the Louisiana International Terminal will be equipped with shore power, allowing vessels to connect to onshore electricity and to turn off diesel engines while at dock.
Shore power can eliminate up to 98% of ship-related emissions, vastly reducing the environmental footprint of a maritime terminal. Operators will also be investing in a largely electric fleet of equipment.
Port NOLA is working with Entergy Louisiana to develop an onsite substation to provide the electricity needs for the terminal. Additionally, the terminal will be designed to grow container-on-barge services, which move containers up and down the river by barge rather than road or rail.
One of the benefits of building a new terminal from the ground up is that we can implement the latest advances in green technologies. And with air quality and noise common concerns that came up in our community outreach, I’m pleased to share our partners’ early commitments to sustainability
said Port NOLA President and CEO Brandy D. Christian.
The $1.5 billion container facility on the Lower Mississippi River will also serve larger vessels coming online in the container industry. If Louisiana does not become “big-ship ready,” nearly 10,000 existing jobs and over $10 billion in output in the state would be lost in just a decade.
The terminal, located in Violet in St. Bernard Parish, is undergoing a multi-year design and permitting process, with construction slated to begin in 2025 and the first berth to open in 2028.
Port NOLA is now finalizing negotiations with private partners who are industry-leading ocean carriers and terminal operators and who will be making high-dollar investments in the project.
