The Obama Administration today fast-tracked the “Susquehanna-Roseland Power Line Project” – something fellow enviros and I have been fighting for years. More info can be found here and here. (See Newark Star-Ledger’s “Obama administration will push Susquehanna-Roseland power line, could be first project to be fast-tracked” and Department of Interior press release, “Obama Administration Announces Job-Creating Grid Modernization Pilot Projects“). Too busy with media calls & discussion with enviros at the moment to do a complete blog-a-thon on the subject, but here are my first thoughts:
Statement to media regarding Obama Administration fast-tracking Susquehanna-Roseland project:
I am disappointed by the decision of the Obama Administration to fast-track the Susquehanna-Roseland project in the name of renewable energy or modernization of the grid, as this project does neither. Plain and simple, it is a conduit for ‘coal-by-wire’ from dirty power plants to the west of us – under the guise of “Project Mountaineer” – a profit-driven scheme of big coal being supported by PJM Interconnection.
There is nothing “smart” about this project’s relationship to the current power grid – it merely replaces 85-year-old transmission technology with 55-year old technology. During hearings on the project by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), Commissioner Fiordaliso commented at his disappointment that this project was not implementing “Smart Grid” technology.
In May of 2009, and again in July of 2010, Governor Christie, along with the Governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia sent letters to Congress (see here and here) opposing long-distance transmission of renewable energy, citing an unreasonable burden of cost to East Coast states, and harm to the region’s efforts at developing our own local renewable energy projects.
This decision by the Obama administration will dramatically impact New Jersey’s ability to economically develop offshore wind projects that would create permanent, sustainable jobs in a new, expanding renewable energy industry for our state, not temporary construction jobs for a short-term project.
I call on Governor Christie, The NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the NJBPU to do everything within their power to reject this attempt by the Obama Administration at greenwashing of dirty coal-powered energy and “dumb” grid technology.