Stop by the Sewaren 7 construction site in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, and you’ll experience the hustle and bustle of a staggering volume of activity – massive machinery moving dirt, cement being poured, sparks flying from welders’ guns. On any given day, you will find between 450 and 500 skilled workers building what will soon be the most efficient, clean, state-of-the-art gas generation plant in the Garden State.
The construction launch of the new Sewaren 7 combined-cycle natural gas plant was celebrated a year ago, on June 14, 2016, when New Jersey’s leaders – including Governor Chris Christie, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac – lent a hand to PSEG Chairman and CEO Ralph Izzo, PSEG Power President Bill Levis, and union workers at a groundbreaking ceremony. The project has the full support of the City of Woodbridge and Mayor McCormac, who, at the opening, stressed that the plant will add needed capacity to the region, support electric system reliability and will provide environmental and economic benefits.
Sewaren 7 – a dual-fuel, 540-megawatt combined-cycle plant – will replace our nearly 70-year-old generating units with exceptionally reliable state-of-the-art technology. Sewaren 7 represents an investment of more than $600 million and is on track to begin operation in time for summer 2018. The plant will bring new tax revenue and clean capacity to New Jersey and the region, supporting electric system reliability for the next 40 years. It is being built by union labor and, to date, has generated more than 500 temporary jobs during construction.
All this is good for New Jersey – economically, environmentally and for reliability. It’s also good news for our investors. And, it is good for our company and our employees.
I am proud that, in the year since we broke ground, our project is on budget and on schedule. In addition, our recently instituted foremen meetings with site contractors and local union leadership will keep us in lockstep with site coordination and our schedule.
At the end of every day, it is rewarding to see the progress of this hard-working team of project employees and contractors, as they busily transform this space into a plant that will power our homes and businesses for decades to come.
Kevin Reimer, Project Director – Sewaren 7, PSEG Power
