It happened with the push of a detonator, the collapse of a smoke stack and the sounds of applause.
Another chapter of New Jersey’s reliance on coal power plants to generate electricity came to a noisy end Friday morning.
The state’s two remaining coal-fired plants in South Jersey — the Logan Generating Plant and Chambers Cogeneration Plant — ceased operations in June. The Logan plant in Gloucester County was imploded Friday morning as part of a ceremony, attended by various officials. Officials did not immediately clarify any plans to demolish the Chambers plant in Carneys Point, Salem County.
“The Logan demolition today marks the end of the coal era in New Jersey and a major step towards the state’s clean energy future,” said Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz.
Starwood Energy, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group that focuses on energy infrastructure investments and owns both facilities, announced Friday that the company will build grid-scale “battery storage projects” at both the Logan and Chambers plants. The projects will support offshore wind transmission lines.
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory “battery storage” allows power system operators and utilities to store renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, for later use. Supporters say not only does the storage better the planet, it saves customers money and can prove useful during inclement weather, which is more common due to climate change.
“Battery storage will play an instrumental role in bolstering a clean grid, all without polluting our air or endangering the health of vulnerable communities,” Cruz added. “Sierra Club encourages other states to follow this example. By continuing to act now, New Jersey can be a national leader on clean energy and ensure a just transition for all.”
Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this spring called the move a “very good step in the right direction” as the state continues to shift away from fossil fuels and toward renewable, or greener, energy sources. The Democratic governor has set a goal for the Garden State to use only carbon-free — or “clean” — energy sources by 2050.
“The implosion of New Jersey’s last operating coal-fired power plant represents a symbolic turning point as the state continues its determined transition to a 100% clean energy economy,” a spokesman for Murphy said in a statement sent to NJ Advance Media on Friday afternoon. “As we close this chapter in New Jersey’s history, we look forward to the promise of a robust green economy and the good-paying, family-sustaining jobs it will produce.”
When the state announced the plants would stop running this summer, officials said it marked the end to decades of polluting air and damaging public health in the nearby Gloucester County communities. Starwood Energy led Friday’s implosion, which was triggered by Joseph Fiordaliso, board president of the Bureau of Public Utilities, at a press briefing.
Sierra Club members said the organization pushed throughout 2021 for the BPU and Atlantic City Electric, a local utility, to close the power plants they claimed “locked rate-payers into above-market prices.” In March, the state Board of Public Utilities approved a deal ending the agreement — making way for Starwood Energy to transition them for clean energy purposes.
“This is a moment of positive change and we need to carry this momentum forward and transition to 100% clean energy as soon as possible. It will better our communities now and for generations to come,” Anjuli Ramos-Busot, Director at the Sierra Club, NJ Chapter, said in a statement.
Total Wrecking & Environmental, a power plant demolition company based in Buffalo, New York, was contracted for the demolition. A representative from the company said three months of preparation culminated in the implosion of the Logan plant’s 430-foot stack and 190-foot boiler on Friday.
A number of other coal plants in New Jersey have closed in recent years. PSE&G shuttered facilities in Hamilton and Jersey City in 2017. The B.L. England plant in Upper Township ceased operation in 2019.
The U.S. and other countries in general have been moving away from coal the last few decades. The use of coal to generate electricity in America dropped in half between 2005 and 2019, according to he U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Energy experts say coal is a particularly expensive and “dirty” fossil fuel, producing much more air pollution than other sources. An online map, provided by the Sierra Club, shows all the existing coal plants throughout the nation.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.
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Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @stevenrodasnj.
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