Rise Light & Power announced on Friday that it plans to build the Outerbridge Renewable Connector – an innovative renewable energy hub that will help streamline the delivery of renewable offshore wind power to homes and businesses in New Jersey – on a former contaminated site he acquired in southern Amboy.

Rise Light & Power, a subsidiary of LS Power based in Queens, New York, said the project aims to serve as a central interconnection point for offshore wind farms to deliver clean energy to the country’s power grid. New Jersey, which could power 1.4 million homes. with offshore wind power while avoiding having to bury high voltage electrical cables under the beaches of the Shore.

Rise officials said the project is expected to create more than $ 1 billion in economic value in the state, including nearly $ 88 million in tax revenue for state and local governments.

Rise submitted the proposal to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and PJM Interconnection on Friday. The application approval process would take approximately 4-6 months.

Rise CEO Clint Plummer said the company’s proposal would help the state meet its ambitious clean energy goals.

“The state’s bold vision calls for a responsible and affordable solution to deliver offshore wind power to the state’s power grid,” he said. “Outerbridge solves the challenge of finding suitable and acceptable cable landing sites using existing infrastructure that avoids installing transmission lines in sensitive areas like residential neighborhoods and recreational beaches. “

The mayor of South Amboy, Fred Henry, fully supports the project.

“Gov. (Phil) Murphy has positioned New Jersey as a leader in the clean energy transition, and we are proud to play a critical role in its goal for the state to get 50% of its electricity from clean energy sources. ‘by 2030,’ he said. “The Outerbridge Renewable Connector is the only project in our state that can deliver clean offshore wind to our residents without the controversy of disturbing beaches and communities.

“Outerbridge is also a major economic generator for South Amboy which will create high paying local jobs and support our community as a major taxpayer. This is the kind of partner and project that South Amboy is proud to support.

Plummer said the Outerbridge proposal is a superior solution to providing offshore wind power to New Jersey power customers because it allows offshore wind projects to avoid bringing high voltage power cables to beaches. or in other sensitive areas.

Instead, Rise proposes to transform the 50-acre waterfront industrial site, which once housed Jersey Central Power & Light Co.’s EH Werner Power Plant, into an ideal gateway for delivering energy from offshore wind farms in New Brunswick. Jersey.

The 26-acre industrial zoning site was retired as a fossil-fueled power plant in 2015. The Raritan Bay site includes an existing substation and switching station, rail and road access, a jetty with expansion potential and unimpeded access to the Atlantic Ocean with 24 acres of submerged land.

Once the offshore wind power is delivered to the new clean energy hub in South Amboy, Outerbridge will function as a giant extension cord, delivering clean energy to the local electricity grid through improved grid infrastructure on site and to the Deans substation via cables buried along an existing railway right-of-way. The electric cables will be entirely underground. A proposed battery energy storage system offers the possibility of increasing the reliability of the network.

Rise officials said the Outerbridge project presents to BPU:

• Convenient location – the site of the power station at the EH Werner Retreat on Raritan Bay;
• Zoned for industrial purposes – no recreational beaches, residential communities or wildlife management areas would be disturbed;
• Direct access to the national and regional electricity grid via an on-site substation and access to others via an existing railway right-of-way;
• A low environmental impact and environmentally friendly road layout, with no surface transmission installation or road construction required between the South Amboy location;
• A battery-powered energy storage system that will ease New Jersey’s transition to clean energy and improve the reliability of the PJM system.

Rise officials said they are committed to extensive and ongoing communication with residents, local officials, workers, businesses, conservationists, environmental justice organizations, the health care industry. fishery and other stakeholders for comments and advice during project development.

“New Jersey has a leading offshore wind program in the country,” said Joe Esteves and David Nanus, co-heads of private equity at LS Power. “Our Outerbridge proposal enables the state to meet its offshore wind targets on time, cost effectively and with the highest possible levels of public support. And it will demonstrate how a power plant site can be turned into a clean energy hub. “

Jeff Dunne and Jeremy Neuer of CBRE led the site assessment and organized the acquisition of the 50 acre site. The sale price was not disclosed.