The grant, announced Friday by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, will go to the Port of San Francisco and San Francisco Bay Ferry to cut emissions from diesel-powered ferries linking downtown San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, Vallejo and Alameda.
The money from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Ports Program will support electrification infrastructure at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal; construction of a high-speed 400-passenger zero-emission vessel, and a new ferry terminal in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood.
The project will make the San Francisco Bay Ferry the first zero-emissions fast ferry network in the country, Breed said.
House Speaker emeritus Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said in a press release: "This funding will improve the quality of life for Bay Area working families by creating a cleaner, greener environment where reliable public transit reduces congestion and helps build equity and opportunity for all San Franciscans."
San Francisco Bay Ferry carried more than two million passengers in 2023 on the nation's cleanest high-speed, high-capacity ferry fleet.
The grant includes funding to support a maritime workforce development program operated by the Working Waterfront Coalition that will train more than 200 apprentices, according to the mayor's office.
