Long Beach green-lights Toyota project

Fuel-cell power plant and hydrogen fueling station are part of plan.    The Port of Long Beach’s board of harbor commissioners approved a proposal by Toyota Logistics Services to redevelop its facility at Pier B and build a renewable energy fuel-cell power plant and hydrogen fueling station.
   Toyota’s marine terminal at the port occupies berths B82 and B83 at Pier B, according to the port’s website.
   New automobiles from Japan are off-loaded from ships at the terminal, processed and transported off site via truck or rail. The redevelopment is expected to make those operations more efficient, the port said.
   Construction on the private project is anticipated to start later this year and be completed in 18 months. The project will involve replacing separate office, car washing, fueling, auto body and other facilities with a single building. Plans also call for the construction of a 2.3-megawatt fuel-cell power plant and a new fueling station that will include hydrogen.
   “Toyota is one of our oldest customers,” Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero said. “We’ve grown together during a business partnership that’s almost a half-century old, and part of the reason we’ve remained successful is recognizing the need to invest in modernization projects like this to improve our operations.”