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Port of Seattle Aims to Heat Sea-Tac Airport Entirely with RNG

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Port of Seattle Aims to Heat Sea-Tac Airport Entirely with RNG

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The Port of Seattle is pushing to make Seattle-Tacoma International Airport the nation’s first airport heated entirely by renewable natural gas. The port recently announced a Request for Proposals for RNG service to supply Sea-Tac’s boilers and bus fueling system, which is responsible for more than 80 percent of the port-owned emissions.
All of the current fossil natural gas would be replaced by RNG, which is also known as biomethane and is produced by the decomposition of organic matter, typically produced by landfills, wastewater treatment plants and food and animal waste digesters.
“The port can play a major role in creating a renewable natural gas market because we offer a stable, long-term use of gas,” says Arlyn Purcell, the port’s director of Aviation Environment and Sustainability. “If we can attract a project developer to supply the airport, this will spur more opportunities to feed the current gas pipeline with RNG rather than have landfills or digesters flare the gas on-site or allowing their methane emissions to escape into the air.”
The port previously adopted aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals under its Century Agenda, with the aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations by 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and to be carbon neutral or carbon negative by 2050. Ranked as the ninth busiest U.S. airport, Sea-Tac International served 46.9 million passengers and more than 425,800 metric tons of air cargo in 2017, producing a regional economic impact pegged at more than $22.5 billion.

Archives, Global Trade Daily, U.S. Ports

The Port of Seattle tackles Greenhouse Gas with RNG

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In an effort to create the nation’s first airport heated entirely by renewable natural gas, the Port of Seattle announced last week’s Request for Proposals to support the boilers and bus fueling system of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with renewable natural gas.

“The Port can play a major role in creating a renewable natural gas market because we offer a stable, long-term use of gas.” said Arlyn Purcell, Director of Aviation Environment and Sustainability, Port of Seattle.

The Port of Seattle’s Century Agenda is an initiative to meet the company’s vision of a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 within company operations. Currently, the company’s primary legislative focus is on the state level through advocating for a clean fuel standard in Washington and catching up to its competitors in California and Oregon that have ample support of state-level clean fuel standard policies.

Through the use of Renewable natural gas (RNG), the company hopes to replace fossil natural gas in its operations and create more opportunities that create a competitive advantage while supporting a gas emissions reduction total of 18,000 metric tons per year, depending on what proposals the company receives.

“If we can attract a project developer to supply the airport, this will spur more opportunities to feed the current gas pipeline with RNG rather than have landfills or digesters flare the gas on-site or allowing their methane emissions to escape into the air,” concluded Purcell.

Source: Port of Seattle

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, News, Ocean Ports

Port Slowdown Dulls Washington Apple Exports

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Los Angeles, CA – The export of one of the Pacific Northwest’s staple agricultural products – apples – has been severely impacted by the continuing work slowdown by dock workers as labor contract talks between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union continue drag on.

“Individual firms have lost millions of dollars a week in orders. We’re estimating tens of millions of dollars each week throughout the industry,” said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.

“There’s an immediate negative impact on returns to growers and the industry as a whole.”

Every year Washington exports about 30 percent of its entire production to more than 60 countries around the world.

In the 2013-14 crop year the quantity exported was over 37.3 million 42-lb bushel cartons.

This year, the industry produced a huge crop of about 155 million, 40-pound boxes – 35 percent more than usual. Despite the record crop and growing seasonal demand for the fruit, in early November, growers said apples would have to leave port by the end of the month to reach markets in Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East.

A number of firms, particularly packers, marketers and shippers, he said have been forced to lay off workers or cut hours “because they’re not moving inventory at the rate they planned to.”

DeVaney comments were echoed by Todd Fryhover, president of the Washington Apple Commission, who said the continuing port situation “hurts and continues to hurt. We need to find a solution. It’s having a huge impact.”

12/03/2014

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, News, Ocean Ports

Seattle, Tacoma to Combine Ocean Cargo Operations

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Seattle, WA – ​ The Seattle and Tacoma port commissions will unify the management of the two ports’ marine cargo terminals and related functions under a single Seaport Alliance “to strengthen the Puget Sound gateway and attract more marine cargo for the region.”

The new Seaport Alliance will manage marine cargo terminal investments and operations, planning and marketing, while the individual port commissions will retain their existing governance structures and ownership of assets, said a spokesman for the Port of Seattle.

This unprecedented level of cooperation between the state’s two largest container ports “is a strategic response to the competitive pressures that are reshaping the global shipping industry.”

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma, which, when combined, form the third-largest container gateway in North America, “face fierce competition from ports throughout North America, as shipping lines form alliances, share space on ever-larger vessels and call at consolidated terminals at fewer ports,” said Port of Tacoma Commission president Clare Petrich.

“Working together, we can better focus on financially sustainable business models that support customer success and ensure our ability to reinvest in terminal assets and infrastructure,” she said.

“Where we were once rivals, we now intend to be partners,” said Stephanie Bowman, co-president of the Port of Seattle Commission.

Instead of competing, “we are combining our strengths to create the strongest maritime gateway in North America. The Seaport Alliance is the result of our shared commitment to maintaining the economic health of our region through a thriving maritime industry.”

The Seaport Alliance is the outgrowth of talks held under the sanction and guidance of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).

Subject to further FMC review and approval, the two port commissions will enter into an ‘Interlocal Agreement’ (ILA), which is intended “to provide the ports with a framework for a period of due diligence to examine business objectives, strategic marine terminal investments, financial returns, performance metrics, organizational structure, communications and public engagement.”

Following the due diligence period, the two port commissions intend to submit a more detailed agreement for the Seaport Alliance to the FMC by the end of March 2015.

During the due diligence period, John Wolfe, Port of Tacoma CEO, and Kurt Beckett, Port of Seattle deputy CEO, will co-lead the planning work and coordinate with both port commissions, according to a joint statement released by both ports.

Commissioners from both ports expect to hold a public meeting next spring to hire Wolfe as the CEO of the Seaport Alliance following the FMC’s approval of the agreement.

10/13/2014