New Jersey-based Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG, www.pseg.com) hosted a presentation in New York City this week, during which the company highlighted its plans for an increased emphasis on renewable energy, according to a report by Industrial Info Resources (www.industrialinfo.com).
Currently, PSEG serves the gas distribution and electricity needs of the Northeast U.S. market. Going forward, Industrial Info reports PSEG plans to increase its focus on three particular areas of renewable energy: compressed-air energy storage, wind, and solar. Compressed-air energy storage is a particularly effective method for renewables, such as wind and solar, which are intermittent sources of energy and require storage capability to maximize efficiency. On the wind front, PSEG recently received a $4 million grant for a joint project to develop a 350-megawatt windfarm of the New Jersey coast. The company said while this is a long-term project, wind appears to be a favorable energy alternative given New Jersey’s climate-change goals. Meanwhile, PSEG said it is currently planning to build a 2-megawatt solar project to kick off what it sees as a much larger initiative revolving around solar energy.
Industrial Info reports that it is also tracking many of PSEG’s traditional gas- and coal-fired power plants, many of which are being upgraded with emissions-reduction equipment. The air-quality upgrade at PSEG’s Hudson Generating Station in Jersey City, New Jersey, for example, has an estimated total investment value of $700 million and involves the installation of a wet scrubber, baghouse, a selective catalytic reduction system, an activated carbon injection system and supporting equipment to reduce air emissions in the plant”s coal- and gas-fired Unit 2, which has been in operation since 1968. Industrial Info says this project began in May 2008 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2010.
