NJ coal power plant to be demolished in shift to clean energy
SWEDESBORO, N.J. (AP) — A former coal-fired power plant in New Jersey will be imploded Friday, and its owners are expected to announce plans for a new clean energy venture on the site.
Starwood Energy will demolish the former Logan Generating Plant, with the head of New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities pushing the button that triggers explosives used in bringing the structure down.
Logan is one of two former coal-fired power plants that the company agreed in March to shut down. They were the last two coal-fired power plants operating in the state.
Environmental and public interest groups including the Sierra Club pushed Atlantic City Electric to end an agreement that locked rate-payers into what the Sierra Club termed above-market electricity rates, and to end the operation of the plants.
"The implosion will end a decades-long history of polluting air and worsening public health in the Swedesboro and surrounding Gloucester County communities," the Sierra Club said in a statement.
The utility estimates that termination of the agreement will save ratepayers $30 million through 2024.
The other power plant shuttered under the agreement is the former Chambers Cogeneration Plant in Carneys Point.
The move comes as New Jersey is moving aggressively to adopt clean energy, including its push to be the East Coast leader in offshore wind energy.