Hudson Generating Station
| Hudson Generating Station | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of the Hudson Generating Station with coal-delivery barges in the foreground | |
 | |
| Country |
|
| Location | Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Coordinates | 40°44′50″N 74°04′21″W / 40.7472°N 74.0725°W |
| Status | active |
| Commission date | Unit 1: 12/10/1964[1] Unit 2: 12/18/1968[1] Unit 3: 12/01/1967[1] |
| Decommission date | Unit 1:12/08/2011[2] Unit 3: 10/17/2003[2] |
| Owner(s) | PSEG Fossil LLC |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Low-sulphur bituminous coal from West Virginia, natural gas |
| Turbine technology | Steam |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 660 MWe |
Hudson Generating Station is a power plant which is owned and operated by PSEG Fossil LLC (PSEG), located in Jersey City in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The site has been in operation since 1906, but as of 2011 only one unit is currently in operation at the facility - Unit 2, which runs primarily on coal to generate electricity and is also capable of burning natural gas as a secondary fuel.[3] Unit 2 is also equipped with several back-end technology emission controls.
Location
The Hudson Generating Station occupies a 250-acre (100 ha) site north of the intersection of Duffield and Van Keuren Avenues. Located on the east bank of the Hackensack River near the Riverbend, three miles (5 km) upstream from Newark Bay, it creates the perimeter of Croxton and the Marion Section, and borders Secaucus at Penhorn Creek.
History
The Hudson Generating Station was built on the site of the former Marion Generating Station, the first PSEG plant, which started operation in 1906. The Marion Station was the largest in the PSEG fleet until 1924. The bulk of the Marion station was retired in 1961, as construction on the Hudson Station began. Unit 1 was installed in 1964 and retired in 2011. Unit 2 was installed in 1968 and acts as a load following unit.[4] Unit 3, a gas-burning turbine, was installed in 1967 and shut down in 2003.
Fuel supply
Unit 2 typically burns a low-sulphur coal from West Virginia. In May 1996, a test on that coal indicated a 0.056 ppm (by weight) mercury content.[5] -According to the PSE&G annual report Coal for this plant comes from Indonesia -According to PSE&G's website: total plant capacity is 608Mwe
Water usage: There are no cooling towers at the PSE&G Hudson plant so Hackensack River water is utilized for the Plant's Rankine cycle condenser cooling. Since this plant is a very efficient fossil fuel plant, having a plant efficiency on the order of 41% -river water temperature rise is much much less than that of an equally sized Nuclear power plant
Historic Emissions
| Year | NOx (short tons) | SO2 (short tons) | CO2 (short tons) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1,889.2 | 1,455.7 | 1,870,629.5 |
| 2010 | 2,206.7 | 1,727.5 | 2,387,413.6 |
| 2011 | 768.7 | 987.3 | 1,967,294.7 |
| 2012 | 372.8 | 138.9 | 663,637.3 |
| 2013 | 478.2 | 133.2 | 771,667.4 |
Habitats and Environment
Ospreys
In 1997 PSEG Fossil officials discovered failed attempts by ospreys to build nests on a transmission tower at the Hudson Generating Station. To encourage ospreys to roost along the Hackensack River, Public Service Electric and Gas Co. erected a nesting platform atop a utility pole at the Hudson Generating Station the following year. The platform was built by students from the Hudson Liberty Council's Boy Scouts of America and the Urban League of Hudson County's youth build program.[7] However, the first osprey chick to hatch in the New Jersey Meadowlands since the early 20th century took to the air only on July 13, 2007, from its nest located at PSEG's Hudson Generating Station.[8]
NJDEP Environmental Stewardship Program
As of 2010, the station has achieved recognition by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Compliance & Enforcement division in 10 of a possible 21 Environmental Stewardship categories.[9]
Conflicts and controversies
Clean Air Act Settlement and installation of Back End Technology
After being accused of violating New Source Review standards in 2000, PSEG settled with federal regulators and entered into a consent decree in 2002, which mandated the installation of emission controls at Hudson. In 2010, the facility completed installation of back-end technology to control emissions at the station: selective catalytic reduction to control nitrogen oxides, dry scrubbers to control sulfur dioxide, activated carbon injection to control mercury, and a pulse jet fabric filter system to control particulate emissions. Despite the $700 million USD investment in improvements in the facility some activists still consider it a detriment to the community.[10]
References
- ^ a b c "Air Markets Program Data, 2014". Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. EPA. 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
- ^ a b "PJM Generator Deactivations (as of June 18, 2014)". PJM, PJM. 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
- ^ "Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2006" (Excel). Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ The Hudson Generating Station
- ^
Haythornthwaite, S.; Ruhl, J.; Slye, R.; Butz, J. (1998). "Assessing air pollution Control Options at the Hudson Station of Public Service Electric and Gas" (PDF). Palo Alto, CA, and Newark, NJ: EPRI and PSEG. TR-110867.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Air Markets Program Facility Data, 2009-2014". Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. EPA. 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
- ^ Wild New Jersey - Ospreys on the Hackensack
- ^ Hackensack Riverkeeper Press Release
- ^ "Details of Sites participating in Stewardship" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, NJDEP. 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
- ^ McCardle, John (July 8, 2011), "Jersey City Power Plant Cleans Up Emissions but Can't Escape Activists' Wrath", New York Times
