The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the Mitsubishi Cement Facility Modification Project this week, greenlighting the addition of 40,000 metric tons of additional storage capacity consisting of storage and loading silos on vacant Port property adjacent to Mitsubishi’s existing facility at the Port’s Pier F. The site will increase in size from 4.21 acres to 5.92 acres. The board’s approval was contingent on environmental measures and upgrades.
The terminal receives imported cement and cement-like materials via bulk cargo ships. The product is stored in a warehouse or in silos. It is then loaded onto trucks and taken to local and regional concrete batch plants. With the economy improving and demand for cement rebounding, the approved project will allow Mitsubishi to more efficiently meet the regional demand for cement.
To ensure that the facility is as green as possible, the project requires Mitsubishi Cement to maintain a truck fleet with at least 90 percent of the fleet having engines from 2010 or newer. Mitsubishi will also install solar panels and energy-efficient lighting and conduct an energy audit every five years. Mitsubishi will also work with the Port on a technology review every five years to identify new technologies that can be incorporated into operations to further reduce emissions.
While the terminal already offers shore power so ships at berth can shut down their engines to reduce emissions, not all vessels are able to plug in. With the upgrades, when ships can't use shore power, a new emission control system called “Dockside Catalytic Control” will connect to the vessels’ exhaust stacks and capture pollutants.
“We must continue to be a partner and a leader in both commerce and moving sustainability efforts forward – the two are not mutually exclusive,” said Harbor Commission President Doug Drummond.
Also, the approved project calls for Mitsubishi Cement to contribute $333,720 to the Port’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Grant Program. The Port Community Mitigation Grant Programs are designed to improve community health by lessening the impacts of Port-related air pollution, and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
Construction of the improvements is expected to take two to three years.