India's First Renewable-Powered Box Terminal PSA-Run BMCT

Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Pvt Ltd (BMCT), managed by Singapore’s PSA International Pte Ltd at the government-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port, announced that it has achieved the milestone of being India's inaugural container terminal entirely powered by renewable energy. This accomplishment is attributed to the collaboration with O2 Power Pvt Ltd, resulting in the commissioning of a 7.8 MW solar farm. BMCT, the largest among the five container terminals at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in terms of berth length and capacity, recorded its highest throughput of 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units in the calendar year 2023, since its commencement of operations in February 2018.

PSA International, a fully-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, the government-owned state-holding company in Singapore, has achieved a significant accomplishment in its emissions reduction efforts. BMCT, also known as PSA Mumbai, considers the commissioning of the 7.8 MW solar farm as a "major milestone." The terminal plans to further enhance its sustainability initiatives by expanding the solar farm to 10 MW by June 2024. This expansion is anticipated to cover over 75 percent of the facility's electricity needs. Additionally, BMCT will procure the remaining renewable power from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) and other providers.

The terminal’s CO2 equivalent emissions will be reduced by a projected 16,000 tonnes annually and more than 350,000 tonnes over its life. O2 Power, an Indian renewable energy platform backed by Sweden’s EQT Infrastructure and Singapore’s wealth fund Temasek Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, has developed and will manage the solar farm in Beed, Maharashtra with an expansion facility in Motala, Maharashtra. The plants are connected to PSA Mumbai via existing MSEDCL infrastructure.

PSA Mumbai said it is targeting a 50 percent reduction in its carbon emissions by 2030. The global terminal operator is also undertaking large-scale electrification of its equipment fleet, including the deployment of an all-electric Rubber-tyred Gantry Crane (RTGC) fleet for the Phase 2 development of BMCT. Electrification of all existing RTGCs supporting Phase 1 of BMCT is in progress and is expected to be completed by 2027.

In early 2024, PSA Mumbai said it would roll out e-trucks through PSA BDP India to create a zero-emission green transport corridor in Nhava Sheva linking terminals, container freight station (CFS) and customer facilities. In April 2022, PSA International acquired U.S.-based logistics company BDP International, Inc. PSA BDP provides port-centric supply chain, transportation, and logistics solutions. PSA BDP also signed a MoU with Dow Chemical International to undertake the first-of-its-kind sustainable transport solution in India.

Combining renewable power from PSA Mumbai with CFS and trucking expertise from PSA Ameya (its Indian container freight station unit) and PSA BDP India is a unique marketplace solution and underscores PSA’s commitment to green transportation initiatives, it said. "Supply chain users want greener and more sustainable transportation solutions to achieve emissions reduction targets: the successful completion of this initiative and projects such as the soon-to-be-delivered e-trucks underscores our commitment to meeting those requirements", said Andy Lane, CEO, PSA Mumbai.

"We are pleased to play our part towards J N Port Authority’s target of 60 percent usage of renewable power under Maritime India Vision 2030. With the solar farm’s expansion, we are growing our partnership with O2 Power", Lane added.