Photo courtesy of Stefan Ludwig Photography and Total Wrecking & Demolition LLC
Video courtesy of Total Wrecking & Demoltion LLC
At 10:58 a.m. Dec. 2, an all-clear siren wailed in Swedesboro, New Jersey, as Total Wrecking & Demolition LLC of Buffalo, New York, set off explosives, imploding a 430-foot-tall stack and a 190-foot-tall boiler building, marking the end of state’s last coal-fired power plant.
New Jersey state dignitaries, environmental advocates and energy executives gathered to witness the implosion.
Speaking at the event were Himanshu Saxena, CEO of Greenwich, Connecticut-based Starwood Energy, owner of the Logan Generating Station; Frank Minor, Mayor of Logan Township; Ramón Cruz, president of the Oakland, California-based Sierra Club; and Joseph Fiordaliso, board president of the New Jersey Bureau of Public Utilities. The speakers say the occasion marked the end of an era and signaled the beginning of a new one, featuring clean energy for New Jersey and the surrounding area.
Saxena says he’s grateful for the work the state’s policymakers, environmental advocates and Atlantic City Electric invested in planning for the implosion.
“We wanted to respond to the clarion call for aggressive decarbonization actions which is a major component of the [Gov. Phil] Murphy Administration and the New Jersey Bureau of Public Utilities Clean Energy Master Plan,” Saxena says. “Working with numerous stakeholders, we developed a win-win plan that created an early and permanent retirement of the Logan plant and resulted in one of the state’s single largest CO2 [carbon dioxide] reduction measures. And now, in accordance with New Jersey’s legislative mandate to implement urgently needed energy storage for grid security and to accommodate and maximize the benefit of the huge influx of incoming renewable energy including from offshore wind, our company will work with Energy Management Inc. to transform this site into one of the largest energy storage projects anywhere on the East Coast.”
Total Wrecking & Environmental had been preparing for the historic moment for three months. The nationwide industrial power plant demolition company has conducted controlled demolition of all major structures at the Logan Generating Station for Starwood Energy Group.
Those structures included the power block, boiler house, bag house, coal conveying system, ash management system, cooling tower and more. The project also included careful dismantling before the Dec. 2 implosion.
“Total Wrecking & Environmental is proud to help clean and restore a vital area of the Swedesboro community,” says Frank Bodami, founder and CEO of Total Wrecking & Environmental. “With the final coal-fired power plant in New Jersey now safely demolished, residents can look forward to a cleaner future.”
Cruz says battery storage will “play an instrumental role” in the region’s future.
“The Logan demolition today marks the end of the coal era in New Jersey and a major step toward the state’s clean energy future,” he says. “Sierra Club encourages other states to follow this example. By continuing to act now, New Jersey can be a national leader on clean energy and ensure a just transition for all.”
Fiordasilo thanks Starwood, his fellow commissioners and others connected with project.
“With Gov. Murphy’s commitment, our common goals and collective action, New Jersey is leading the way,” he adds. “Today we have taken a massive step in the right direction that will pave the way for New Jersey’s clean energy future.”
