Caterpillar announced that the Georgia Ports Authority has signed an agreement to purchase 17 generator sets powered by Tier 4 Interim-certified Cat C15 ACERT engines as part of an ongoing effort at the Port of Savannah to upgrade older rubber-tired gantry cranes with cleaner technology.

Austell, Ga.-based Cat dealer Yancey Bros. will adapt the diesel generators with customized enclosures and mounts for installation into the cranes. The project will be completed in stages during the next year.

The repower project will replace the non-regulated and Tier-1 diesel generator sets originally installed on the gantry cranes with advanced power generation equipment features cleaner, more efficient IT4-certified Cat C15 engines. The cranes will be outfitted with new controls that will automatically shift the engines between idle and higher operating speeds to optimize efficiency and meet variable load demands.

“By leveraging Caterpillar’s advanced technologies and Yancey’s considerable hands-on expertise, this repower project will substantially extend the lifetime of the Port of Savannah’s busy fleet of RTGs through state-of-the-art generator sets that will increase efficiency and dramatically reduce emissions,” said Eric Arnold, vice president for the Power Systems division of Yancey Bros. Co.