Oakland completes cold ironing infrastructure

   The Port of Oakland said Friday it has completed construction of its shore power infrastructure that will allow ships to “cold iron” — plug into electricity generated on shore rather than running shipboard diesel engines to produce power.
   The ports said it has committed to reducing seaport-related diesel emissions by 85 percent by 2020 from a 2005 baseline.
   At an event to mark the completion of construction, Port Board Second Vice President Earl S. Hamlin said the port has “already reduced maritime-related diesel particulate emissions by 70 percent. Today we mark another step in our on-going commitment to clean air and healthy communities. With our shore-power project, we expect to knock another 11 tons of diesel particulate matter out of the air. We thank all of our partners for helping us reach today’s milestone.”
   Shore power at the Port of Oakland is a two-phase, multi-year program covering eleven berths. The Port has completed construction of its new electrical infrastructure system, and final testing of the new system is scheduled to be finished next month.