Virginia Inland Port (VIP) announced that it is now fulfilling all of its operational electricity needs from clean-energy resources.
More specifically, the inland port gets its power from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and through a new agreement the cooperative will provide clean electricity to VIP from Virginia-based solar installations.
The clean energy began flowing on January 1, and VIP is the first of the port’s six general cargo terminals to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
This move helps reduce our contribution to global climate change and will help make us a leader among our US East Coast peers in terms of environmental sustainability
said Stephen A. Edwards, CEO and executive director of the Virginia Port Authority (VPA).
The move to renewable energy is part of the overall expansion and modernization of VIP. This year work begins on a $15 million capacity expansion that will create more capacity and efficiency.
When the work is complete, the terminal will retire straddle carriers and begin using rubber-tire gantry cranes to move containers from railcars to trucks.
The port is already sourcing some of its electricity for cargo operations at its terminals in the Norfolk Harbor from renewable sources. By 2024, the port will fulfill all of its electricity needs at its marine terminals from renewable recourses, well ahead of the original 2032 “SCOPE 2” deadline.
