Mitsubishi subsidiary seeks permits for $1.5B gas plant to send power to NYC
The North Bergen Liberty Generating project is sited on a 15-acre industrial lot being used by a demolition company that is already zoned for a power plant. Plant developer Diamond Generating is seeking permits from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the project, but is likely to face opposition from environmental groups.
The New Jersey Meadowlands is an environmentally sensitive area that is flood prone and in the process of being cleaned up. “Why add pollution to an area that already has a lot of pollution, Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, told Utility Dive. “We get the pollution, and New York City gets the power.”
In a press release, North Bergen Liberty Generating, the project company, said the proposed plant would fill the gap left by the anticipated closure of the 2,000 MW Indian Point nuclear plant in Buchanan, N.Y. The proposed plant would also displace older, less efficient fossil fuel plants in the region and “create a significant reduction in regional greenhouse gas emissions emitted from current electric generating plants,” according to the release, which also noted that the proposed plant would be 34% more efficient than the average existing power plant serving New York City.
