Owners of the last coal-fired power plant in Connecticut, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), have announced plans to replace the Bridgeport Harbor Station power plant with a natural gas-fired facility by the end of the decade after more than 50 years of providing energy to the region.
The news has been hailed by state and local officials as a significant environmental and financial benefit for the state and local community.
“This is a true win for Bridgeport ”” not only adding new clean energy to the grid, but creating jobs, tax revenue and general economic activity within the region,” said Richard P. Lopriore, president of PSEG Fossil, a subsidiary of PSEG.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called the announcement a milestone for Connecticut.
“The pollution that coal creates is damaging to the environment, damaging to our health and damaging to the state,” he said. “Our state continues to show that we can meet our energy needs while decreasing our carbon footprint ”” we are leaders in combating global warming.”
According to PSEG, construction of the new natural gas plant will create 350 construction jobs and approximately 20 permanent jobs and add tax revenue to the city of Bridgeport as well as other economic benefits.
In statements welcoming the announcement of the new plant, Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim said he expects the plant will add more than $5 million in additional tax revenue per year to the city in addition to an agreement between the city and PSEG to provide additional benefits for the city and its residents.
Through a Community Environmental Benefit Agreement between PSEG, the city of Bridgeport and several community groups and environmental organizations, PSEG will establish a $2 million fund to support projects and improvements focused on creating environmental benefits for Bridgeport residents; assign a community liaison officer to be the main point of contact with community groups and work with the community to support local and regional hiring in exchange for key construction permits and the city”™s unqualified support for the new gas-fired plant.
“This is a great example of the city, community groups and a local business working together for the benefit of all,” Ganim said. “Along with PSEG”™s investment in this power plant and the potential for additional renewable generation, the company will be investing in local civic groups and community projects, as well as charting a course for the future of this significant property that doesn”™t involve coal.”
The new plant represents a $550 million investment by PSEG capable of producing 485 megawatts of electricity for Connecticut”™s southwestern region.
The plant primarily will run on natural gas, but also will be able to run on ultra-low sulfur distillate as a backup fuel, “ensuring fuel diversity and exceptional dependability,” according to PSEG.
The company estimates construction of the plant will begin in 2017 and the new facility will be operational in June of 2019.
The plant, which represents an investment of more than $550 million, is targeted to be completed and supplying needed energy to the Connecticut region for the year beginning June 2019. The plant will be at PSEG Power Connecticut”™s existing Bridgeport Harbor Station site at 1 Atlantic St.
It will have state-of-the art emissions control technology to reduce the plant”™s environmental impact including reductions in emissions of nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and air-cooled condensers to eliminate the use of harbor water for cooling purposes.
The coal-fired plant is set to be retired by July 2021.
So PSEG is shelling out $550 for the new plant and the rates to its customers won’t go up significantly now or in the future to cover that? Is PSEG getting a tax break or something? This just all seems too good to be true.