Solar powered ships, advanced diesel and electric engines and GPS navigation systems in trucks are going to shape the future of the growing freight sector as per the report given by the Environmental Defense fund. The freight sector is responsible for 25 percent of the transportation sector emissions in the U.S, and on the whole it is about 8 percent of total U.S. emissions. According to a report, in the last 20 years, the emission due to the freight industry has increased to 60 percent as compared to 27 percent for the passenger travel. Keeping the environmental impacts in mind the report has categorized the projects into seven groups to help improve the freight transport:
1. Port and corridor cleanup plans
Some programs are coming up across the world to decrease the emissions in the freight sector. The program named as Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) is one of the good example. Usually large number of freights pass through Chicago which is even expected to increase in future .CREATE is not a cleanout plan but include rudiments that can decrease emissions to about 1800 tons.
2. Shore side power
By plugging a ported ship into a line of power transmission one can reduce emissions heavily in the port cities. It is also known as cold-ironing. Now a dayâs efforts are made to standardize the connections that may form the key of success. This method is becoming very popular these days and many of the bigger ports of the world are employing this method.
3. Ship cleanup
Most of the large ships run on low grade fuel as a result there are more connected noxious waste. To reduce the need for fuel, a German company named Sky Sails, has been placing large drawing kites on ocean going vessels as an alternative. In one of the test, the use of towing kite helped to lessen emissions up to thirty five percent annually. The Sky Sails vessel of Beluga succeeded in saving $1,000 in a single day in fuel. The reports also highlights that the solar vessels have started gaining importance as it can be used as an alternative. This helps the environment, as pollution has become a major cause of concern for the world these days.
4. Logistics
A typical truck which drives 14000 miles in a year and spends 2400 gallons of fuel produces 26.4 tons of emissions. To ensure green environment, smart logistics are used. Smart Logistics that guarantees that only a few empty trucks are there is an important way to reduce emissions and save money. Ryder detect engine inefficiencies using Rydesmart, a GPS fleet location system and also in addition to it refines routes.
5. Coastal shipping
Coastal transportation are not widely used in U.S, but the Marco Polo Program at Europe aims at removing nearly about 700,000 truck trips ever year between Berlin and Paris. One of the best examples in U.S. is sea bridge freight which is a service between Texas, Port Manatee, Brownsville and Fla. It not only decreases the freight emission but its trucking charges between two ports are reduced by 29 percentages in every pound. This brings in quite the profit to the freight industry.
6. Rail yard and port cargo handling equipment
Equipments loaded with diesel are replaced by natural gas or electricity powered equipments is an idea which is gaining much popularity. A train called as Green Goat is powered by batteries, carry cargo between different storage areas of Norfolk International Terminal in Virginia.
7. Truck stop electrification and tolling
Usually the trucks waste their time in break times so keeping them engaged during breaks is a good idea to retard fuel use and emissions. State government is trying to build up as many truck stations as possible namely Oregon which in turn creating electrical hook ups along the major highways. This helps increase the efficiency and output of products and helps increase profits too.
