Port of L.A. announces solar project
The Port of Los Angeles has outlined a five-year plan to install solar panels to generate electricity.
'As we continue to plug more ships into electric power and test electric applications of drayage trucks, hostlers and other cargo-handling assets, our air will be cleaner but our electricity consumption will grow,' said Geraldine Knatz, the port’s executive director. “This initiative will help offset that power consumption, ultimately providing a power supply that is equivalent to the electricity consumption of roughly 2,500 homes.'
The port said installation of 71,500 square feet of solar panels on its World Cruise Center rooftop by the end of 2009 will generate one megawatt of electricity. A $9 million construction contract was recently approved by the Board of Harbor Commissioners for this first phase of the solar power generation initiative.
Three additional phases are expected to occur in within five years, ultimately generating 10 megawatts of power through 1.16 million square feet of solar panels.
