The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved Atlantic City Electric’s petition to modify two power purchase agreements, making way to shut down New Jersey’s last remaining coal-fired power plants.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement that results in the ceasing of all coal-generated electricity from the last two coal-fired power plants in New Jersey,” said Doug Mokoid, Atlantic City Electric region president. “This accomplishment means more than bill savings for our customers; it means cleaner air for our communities and a safer environment for generations to come.”
Atlantic City Electric calls the move a major step in advancing clean energy initiatives to help achieve New Jersey’s leading climate goals and transition to a clean energy economy.
Natural gas and nuclear energy account for almost all of New Jersey’s electricity net generation.
In 2020, those two fuels combined accounted for 90 percent of the total electricity produced at both utility-scale generating facilities and small-scale power systems in the state. Renewable resources provided nearly eight percent of New Jersey’s total electricity generation.
New Jersey was the nation’s sixth-largest producer of electricity from solar energy in 2020 and ranked third in generation from small-scale solar generating systems, such as rooftop solar panels. Overall, solar power accounted for 6½ percent of in-state electricity.
New Jersey policymakers have enacted a landmark Clean Energy Act calling for the advancement of solar, energy storage, offshore wind, and energy efficiency.
About 14 of every 100 New Jersey households use electricity for heating and the average retail price of electricity here is among the top 10 states.
They also established New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan, setting a goal of reaching 100 percent clean energy by 2050 and driving toward higher levels of electrification throughout the economy, including transportation.
New Jersey’s economy is among the top eight states, measured by gross domestic product (GDP) and has been for the last 50 years.
New Jersey also ranks among the 10 states with the lowest amount of energy consumed per dollar of GDP and among the lowest quarter of states in per capita energy consumption.
New Jersey has no crude oil reserves or production, but the state has two operating oil refineries.
Many New Jersey residents commute to work in the New York City or Philadelphia metropolitan areas, and the state has some of the nation’s longest average commute times. Long commutes contribute to the transportation sector’s slightly more than one-third share of the state’s end-use energy consumption
The state has more miles of roadway per square mile of land area than any other state, and the petroleum-dependent transportation sector consumes more energy than any other sector in New Jersey.
In the agreement with Starwood Energy Group, LLC, Atlantic City Electric customers will see up to $30 million in energy bill savings through the end of 2024, the end of the power purchase agreements for the Logan Generating Plant in Swedesboro, and the Chambers Cogeneration Plant in Carney’s Point.
In turn, Starwood will cease operations of coal-fired power generation at each site.
Once all conditions of the agreements have been satisfied and such modification transactions have closed, both facilities are expected to cease coal-fired generation on or around May 31, 2022.
Atlantic City Electric continues to take major steps in advancing environmental and clean energy initiatives. This past September, the company announced a major climate change commitment, launching a multi-faceted, action-oriented effort to help the state of New Jersey achieve its clean energy and climate goals.
As part of the commitment, Atlantic City Electric is focusing on actionable measures to reduce its greenhouse gas footprint, deliver innovative solutions to empower customers to meet their climate change objectives, and drive collaborative efforts with stakeholder and community partners to achieve greater greenhouse gas reduction across South Jersey, while continuing efforts to address the impacts of climate change.
“We are pleased to continue our focus on sustainable energy transition by creating win-win solutions with our counterparties such as ACE,” said Himanshu Saxena, CEO of Starwood Energy. “We appreciate the opportunity to support New Jersey and ACE’s environmental goals, as we permanently shut down the last two coal plants in New Jersey, and transition the site to 21st century clean energy solutions, such as battery storage.”
Saxena said this monumental milestone has support from such groups as the Sierra Club, 350NJ-Rockland, Environment New Jersey, and other stakeholders.
Logan Generating Company and Chambers Cogeneration Limited Partnership are companies owned by investment affiliates of Starwood Energy Group Global, LLC.