Current:Home > FinanceFormer coal-fired power plant being razed to make way for offshore wind electricity connection -TrueNorth Capital Hub
Former coal-fired power plant being razed to make way for offshore wind electricity connection
View
Date:2025-04-17 10:48:23
UPPER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — For decades, tourists heading to the New Jersey beach resorts of Ocean City and Cape May saw the towering smokestack of the B.L. England Generating Station as they zipped past it on the Garden State Parkway.
The 463-foot-tall (141.1-meter) stack was a local landmark and even a weather forecaster for some residents who glanced outside to see which way emissions from its top were blowing, and how fast, as they decided what to wear for the day.
But the power plant, which burned coal and oil over the decades, closed in May 2019, a casualty of the global move away from burning fossil fuels.
And the smokestack, the last major remaining piece of the plant, will be imploded at 10 a.m. EDT Thursday, brought down by explosives strategically placed by a demolition company known in the area for razing the former Trump Plaza casino in nearby Atlantic City in 2021.
The demolition will clear the way for the waterfront site on Great Egg Harbor Bay to enter its next role in providing energy to New Jerseyans: As the connection point for several of the state’s planned offshore wind farms.
Because the power plant already had connections to the electrical grid, much of the infrastructure to plug offshore wind into the power system already exists nearby, making it a logical site to bring the offshore wind power onshore.
A cable from the first such wind farm, to be built by energy company Orsted, will come ashore on a beach in Ocean City, run underground along a roadway right-of-way before re-entering the waters of the bay and finally connecting to the grid at the former B.L. England site.
That route, and the very existence of the project itself, has generated significant opposition from residents in Ocean City and other Jersey Shore communities, who are fighting them in court and in the court of public opinion.
The power plant opened in 1961. A cooling tower there was demolished in September 2022, and boilers at the site were demolished in April.
The property is currently owned by Beesley’s Point Development Group, a New York company that says it specializes in redeveloping “distressed” heavy industrial sites.
___
Follow Wayne Parry on X, formerly known as Twitter, at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
veryGood! (66166)
Related
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Women's NCAA Tournament 2024: Full schedule, times, how to watch all March Madness games
- Astronaut Thomas Stafford, commander of Apollo 10, has died at age 93
- Chicago-area man gets 18 years for 2021 drunken driving crash that killed 3
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- David Guetta and Girlfriend Jessica Ledon Welcome First Baby Together
- Former Mississippi Archives and History department leader Elbert Hilliard dies at age 87
- NHL races are tight with one month to go in regular season. Here's what's at stake.
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Love Is Blind's Chelsea and Jimmy Reunite Again in Playful Video
Ranking
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- A North Dakota woman is sentenced to life in prison without parole for 2022 killing of ex-boyfriend
- 'American Idol': Past contestant Alyssa Raghu hijacks best friend's audition to snag a golden ticket
- Crafts retailer Joann files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as consumers cut back on pandemic-era hobbies
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- MGM Casino Denies Claims Bruno Mars Owes $50 Million Gambling Debt
- Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer gets eight-year contract: Salary, buyout, more to know
- Caitlyn Jenner and Lamar Odom Reuniting for New Podcast
Recommendation
Trump's 'stop
March Madness snubs: Oklahoma, Indiana State and Big East teams lead NCAA Tournament victims
Lawsuit accuses NYC Mayor Eric Adams of sexually assaulting a woman in a vacant lot in 1993
Horoscopes Today, March 17, 2024
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
Former Louisiana police officer pleads guilty in chase that left 2 teens dead, 1 hurt
Missing NC mother, 2 young children found murdered in Charlotte, suspect arrested: Police
Oregon man found guilty of murder in 1980 cold case of college student after DNA link