Neptune ready to build power conversion plant
BY JOHN DUNPHY
Staff Writer

SAYREVILLE — On July 15, 2007, they plan to throw the switch.

That’s the date Mayor Kennedy O’Brien offered for when Neptune Regional Transmission System (RTS) plans to bring its electric converter station online near River Road.

The mayor, with other local officials and representatives of the Long Island-based power company, last week announced the start of construction to build the converter station on a 12-acre parcel of land that is adjacent to the existing GPU FirstEnergy Sayreville substation. The proposed construction site was once home to the Sayre and Fisher Brick Co. and has for years lain overgrown and undeveloped.

The proposed converter station will be part of the Neptune undersea electric transmission project between New Jersey and Long Island, N.Y., which will change electricity from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) for transportation on a regional electricity transmission network through 51 miles of underwater cable.

Neptune RTS purchased the land from the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA) for $2.25 million. And through a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program agreement with the borough, Neptune RTS has agreed to pay Sayreville about $417,000 a year in revenue for 30 years.

Chris Hocker, vice president of planning for Neptune RTS, called the relationship between his company and the borough a win-win situation.

“We were able to use a dormant site that was a candidate for redevelopment in a way that will be beneficial to the borough for a long time,” he said. “It all appears to be very positive from our point of view and from Sayreville’s point of view as well.”

O’Brien said Neptune RTS has already proved to be a good neighbor to the citizens of Sayreville, and he anticipates a continued positive relationship.

“It’s a perfect ratable for Sayreville,” he said. “It will pay about $400,000 a year, create no traffic and no additional schoolchildren. There’s no noise, no manufacturing. It will be a building you’ll pass and you won’t think twice about it.”

The Neptune RTS facility has been in the discussion and approval stages for nearly four years. It was approved by SERA, and the Borough Council included the facility in its redevelopment plan for the tract. In February, the Planning Board unanimously approved the site plan.

Planning Board Chairman Dr. John Misiewicz said at the time of approval that the plant will have a pleasant aesthetic presence, with brick fronting the building and a clock tower. Misiewicz also indicated that construction, which is expected to begin this summer, would provide between 200 and 300 union jobs. The plan found support from the Electric Workers Union, whose assistant business manager told the board that he and his colleagues believe the Neptune RTS project presents a win-win situation for the town.

Though the ceremonial groundbreaking for the project took place last week, Hocker said the actual construction is expected to begin by March.

With everything going according to plan and on schedule, the facility will be operating in about a year and a half.

“This means tax revenue for the borough,” Hocker said. “We look forward to a long-term relationship with Sayreville.”