Hudson Generating Station

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Hudson Generating Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Public Service Enterprise Group (owned by Exelon) near Jersey City, New Jersey.

The plant will be will be retired on June 1, 2017.

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Closure

The plant will be will be retired on June 1, 2017. Plant owner PSE&G Power said it "could not justify the significant investment required" to upgrade the plant "to meet the new reliability standards," given the lower cost of electricity alternatives.

Hudson Generating Station and Environmental Justice

Resident RJ Harper on the Hudson Plant

Hudson Generating Station ranked #2 in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)'s 2010 report on the nation’s most toxic coal fired power plants. NAACP ranking on environmental justice and coal was based on level of poisonous emissions from coal plants, cross referenced by proximity to large populations of communities of color and low-income communities. Within a three mile radius of the Hudson plant, 85% of the area's 100,000 plus residents are African Americans with an average income of $10,000 per year. Hudson is among over 100 coal plants near residential areas.

2011 Report: Hudson top environmental justice offender

The 2011 report, "Coal Blooded: Putting Profits Before People in Illinois" by Adrian Wilson, NAACP, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), and the Indigenous Environmental Network used an algorithm combining levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions together with demographic factors in order to calculate an environmental justice score for the 431 coal-fired power plants in the U.S. Twelve plants were ranked the top environmental justice offenders, producing a total of 48,582 Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity in 2005 — only 1.2% of total U.S. electricity production, yet affecting a total of 1.78 million Americans who live within 3 miles of one of the 12 plants, with an average per capita income of $14,626 (compared with the U.S. average of $21,587), and 76.3% people of color.

The plants were:

1. Crawford Generating Station, Chicago, IL (Edison International)
2. Hudson Generating Station, Jersey City, NJ (PSEG)
3. Fisk Generating Station, Chicago, IL (Edison International)
4. Valley Power Plant, Milwaukee, WI (Wisconsin Energy)
5. State Line Plant, Hammond, IN (Dominion)
6. Lake Shore Plant, Cleveland, OH (FirstEnergy)
7. Gallagher Generating Station, New Albany, IN (Duke Energy)
8. Bridgeport Harbor Station, Bridgeport, CT (PSEG)
9. River Rouge Power Plant, River Rouge, MI (DTE Energy)
10. Cherokee Station, Commerce City, CO (Xcel Energy)
11. Four Corners Steam Plant, Niinahnízaad, NM (Arizona Public Service Company)
12. Waukegan Generating Station, Waukegan, IL (Edison International)

Plant Data

• Owner: Public Service Electric & Gas Fossil LLC
• Parent Company: Public Service Enterprise Group, owned by Exelon
• Plant Nameplate Capacity: 660 MW (Megawatts)
• Units and In-Service Dates: 660 MW (1968)
• Location: Duffield Ave. and Van Keuren Ave., Jersey City, NJ 07306
• GPS Coordinates: 40.744472, -74.073111
• Coal Consumption:
• Coal Source:
• Number of Employees:

PSEG Fossil L.L.C. Civil Judicial Settlement

On November 30, 2006 the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice along with the State of New Jersey announced a settlement with Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) related to the company's failure to comply with a 2002 consent decree that required the utility to install pollution control devices at two of its coal-fired power plants.

PSEG was required to pay a civil penalty of $6 million – $4.25 million to the federal government and $1.75 million to New Jersey. Under settlement agreements PSEG was also required to spend $3.25 million on environmental mitigation projects.

The amended agreement, signed by the United States and the State of New Jersey, requires the electric utility to accelerate the installation of air pollution control equipment at its Mercer Generating Station, to install additional control equipment that was not previously required and to carry out a host of interim pollution control measures in exchange for delaying the installation of pollution controls required under the original timeline at PSEG's Hudson Generating Station.

The EPA notes that "Under the 2002 consent decree, PSEG was required to install pollution control equipment at the Mercer and Hudson plants to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM), and take steps to reduce mercury and carbon dioxide emissions. The utility did install pollution control equipment for nitrogen oxides known as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) at its Mercer plant. SCR is capable of reducing nitrogen oxides by approximately 90%. However, PSEG has failed to take the necessary steps to install required pollution control equipment at the Hudson facility as required by the original settlement."

The settlement required PSEG to install an acid gas scrubber for removing sulfur dioxide from (SO2) exhaust gases produced by the power plant – at one of the Mercer plants as well as one at an additional Mercer plant by 2010. In addition, PSEG agreed to install baghouses or dust collection chambers at its Mercer plant.

PSEG was also required to meet new NOx emissions limit at the Mercer plant starting January 1, 2007. In addition, the company was required to install baghouses or dust collection chambers at its Mercer plant to cut pollution more than a less effective technology it was previously using. Lastly, PSEG is required to use carbon injection systems, not previously required, to reduce mercury emissions from the Mercer facility.

The EPA also stated that these measures include year-round operation of the existing NOx control equipment "utilizing selective non-catalytic reduction to reduce NOx, use of ultra-low sulfur coal, compliance with annual emission caps for NOx and SO2, and operation of an electrostatic precipitator and a fly ash conditioning system to control PM. Installation of permanent controls will be delayed until December 31, 2010, unless PSEG chooses to shut down the unit altogether in 2008."

Emissions Data

• 2006 CO₂ Emissions: 3,364,643 tons
• 2006 SO₂ Emissions: 19,709 tons
• 2006 SO₂ Emissions per MWh:
• 2006 NO_x Emissions: 7,459 tons
• 2005 Mercury Emissions: 136 lb.

Articles and Resources

Related SourceWatch Articles

• Existing U.S. Coal Plants
• New Jersey and coal
• Public Service Enterprise Group
• United States and coal
• Global warming
• EPA Coal Plant Settlements

External Sources

• Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed Jan. 2009.
• Environmental Integrity Project, "Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants", July 2007.
• Facility Registry System, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, accessed Jan. 2009.
• Carbon Monitoring for Action database, accessed Feb. 2009.