For Immediate Release
Contact: Megan Steele, megan.steele@sierraclub.org
Today, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) announced its plans to reevaluate the current proposal for a 34 MW gas fired power plant in the Ironbound community of Newark. The PVSC will be expanding stakeholder engagement and starting a public process to explore the use of renewable energy alternatives. Many local groups have vehemently opposed the proposal, including Ironbound Community Corp, and the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter has been supporting their efforts.
“This is a step in the right direction. The PVSC has announced that they will be reevaluating their proposal for a dirty power plant in the Ironbound in Newark. They said that they will be looking at renewable energy alternatives, which is critical. We are glad that they have listened to the Environmental Justice groups and others who have raised their voices against this damaging project,” said Renée Pollard, Environmental and Social Justice Chair, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter. “This is an area that already suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the country. Using renewable energy will help the people living near this site breathe easier.”
The former proposal for the Standby Power Generation Facility would have included three 28-MW combustion turbine generators using natural gas, two 2-MW black start engine generators using natural gas, and two 164-kW fire pump engines using diesel fuel. According to the PVSC’s calculations, every year the facility would emit 100 tons CO2, 25 tons NOx, 100 tons of particulate matter, 100 tons SO2, 100 tons of suspended particulate matter, and 25 tons of Volatile Organic Compounds.
“We want to thank the PVSC for taking this step forward. Now we need to make sure that we hold them accountable. We need to make sure that they truly look at renewable alternatives, including tidal, hydro, or wind power as well as battery storage and flywheels. If they decide to move forward with a dirty gas plant, it will add hundreds of thousands of tons of CO2 into an area that is already choking on pollution. They also need to expand the scope of stakeholder engagement because the impacts of this project reach nearby towns and the entire state,” said Taylor McFarland, Acting Director, Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter. “The purpose of this project is to protect us from another Sandy, but building more fossil fuel projects will make another superstorm like Sandy happen again.”