By Cindy Christy Fertsch
The final step in the demolition of the B.L. England power plant will take place later this month. The implosion of the 475-foot-tall smokestack has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on Oct. 26. For decades, the smokestack has towered over Great Egg Harbor Bay at the northern end of Cape May County. The smokestack is a common landmark amongst boaters and drivers at the Jersy Shore. It can be seen for miles.
There will be public viewing points for the implosion, but those spots haven’t been determined yet. Possible locations include the biking and walking path along the nearby Garden State Parkway, Upper Township officials said. The Somers Point side of the bay is also offers a good vantage point.
The demolition of the distinctive tower, once designed to resemble a lighthouse, has been underway for more than a year. The metal boiler units were imploded in April and the concrete cooling tower was taken down last September. All the structures have been demolished in sections. The implosion work is being done by Controlled Demolition, Inc., a company out of Maryland. Preparations have been underway for months with nearby structures dismantled and removed. All the necessary permits have been secured.
Built in 1961 by Atlantic City Electric, the power plant once provided approximately 450 megawatts of generating capacity from three generating units. Two units burned coal and up to 7 percent fuel from rubber tires. The third unit burned oil. It employed as many as 100 workers.
On January 24, 2006, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued an administrative consent order to Atlantic City Electric for the power plant violating the Clean Air Act. The order required that the power plant meet performance standards. At that time, the plant released significant amounts of pollutants into the air, lacking state-of-the-art pollution controls. It was put up for sale at that time. RC Cape May Holdings later bought the power plant for $12.2 million, assuming all environmental liabilities, which took effect in 2007. In 2011, the company lost a bid for a state government-backed program to construct a new natural gas facility. In 2012, RC Cape May Holdings came to an agreement with the DEP to resolve violations. Under the plan, the oldest coal plant (Unit 1) was shut down in 2013. The other two units were scheduled to be converted to a natural gas power plant, which would eliminate most pollutants. This plan would involve building a pipeline that would run underneath state and county roads, at a cost of $90 million. The company argued that the pipeline would provide jobs, supply energy within the state, and provide a backup to the main gas line in the region but environmental groups argued against the plan. In 2017, the state Pinelands Commission voted 9-5 in favor of the project. In response, the New Jersey Sierra Club and Environment New Jersey filed a successful appeal to the Superior Court, arguing that the pipeline’s construction ran counter to the goals of the Pinelands Commission. The plant closed down in 2019.
Orsted, an ocean wind offshore wind farm has plans to use the substation at B.L. England to transmit its power to the grid.
