This will make room for development and wind farm link to power grid
BEESLEYS POINT — While it has taken a lot longer than planned to demolish the smokestack at the former power plant in Beesleys Point, the overall project is way ahead of schedule.
Chris Wilson, co-founder of property owner Beesley’s Point Development Group, said last week that the implosion of the iconic stack is now scheduled for Oct. 26.
“Things have been going very well,” Wilson told the Sentinel. “We are really excited about this. The implosion is going to be pretty spectacular.”
The BPDG bought the property, which is more than 350 acres, in November 2021. The sale cleared the way for a proposal that may lead to construction of a hotel, marina, restaurants, retail shops and homes, as well as a significant natural element open to the public.
The BPDG has committed to a massive environmental cleanup of the site, which was home for many years to the coal-fired B.L. England Generating Station.
“We have been tirelessly working to be sure that we do something that benefits the entire community,” Wilson said.
Work so far has included a controlled burn of invasive phragmites reeds, removal of asbestos from multiple buildings and their demolition, and mapping of sensitive areas with plans for restoration and preservation.
In addition, Wilson said, the BPDG is undertaking coastal resiliency projects such as restoration of the upland forest and development of a living shoreline and breakwater.
“What we want to accomplish with nature, to do it properly and effectively, we have to be involved in state and national programs,” he said.
Controlled Demolition Inc. demolished the plant’s cooling tower Sept. 29, 2022, and has been removing other structures on the site, which is on Great Egg Harbor Bay between Atlantic and Cape May counties.
Removal of the smokestack and boiler units was tentatively scheduled for February but was set back until April 21, when only the boilers were taken down.
Demolition of the smokestack was then set for June but Wilson said a security risk made the BPDG rethink the timeline.
Chad Parks, executive vice president of real estate and development for BPDG, said two Pennsylvania men “decided they wanted to cut explosives out of the building” prior to the April 21 implosion. On-site security apprehended one of the perpetrators at the site and the second was taken into custody at a nearby convenience store.
“We did a full inventory and nothing was taken,” Parks said at the time.
“That really disrupted us. What if something didn’t go right? We were not willing to take any chances when it comes to safety,” Wilson said, noting Controlled Demo then had to fit the job into its schedule.
Wilson said there still is a lot of work to be done, predicting that the cleanup of the remaining structures would be accomplished by the end of the year.
The BPDG has been working closely with township officials on redevelopment of the site, which played a role in Upper Township for decades as a place of employment and source of millions of dollars in energy tax receipts for hosting the plant.
Deputy Mayor Kim Hayes said she has bittersweet feelings about the next big step in the redevelopment process.
“Saying goodbye to this iconic marker will be emotional, but brings with it the excitement of possibility,” she said. “Having that site completely remediated is a huge benefit to the township and will lead to more benefits in the future.”
Wilson said the final product would draw high-end retail partners and create jobs while tying it all into bike and walking trails with public access.
“They have been so good to work with,” he said. “It’s a huge undertaking, but we have pledged to bring all these ratables and we are committed to that.”
A lifelong resident of Cape May County, Hayes said the sight of the smokestack at B.L. England has always felt like a lighthouse marking her return home. She said “someone” told her children the plant was the chocolate factory from the Willy Wonka movies.
“The stack brings back fond memories of when they were small. I’ve heard others share they thought it was a cloud maker when the plant was operational,” she said, noting the plant has played a prominent role in the lives of many township residents.
Mayor Jay Newman, who has lived in the township perhaps a couple of decades longer than Hayes, said the ongoing process at the site has been “both exciting and nostalgic at the same time: Exciting to see the changes and to be a part of those changes and nostalgic to see something that has been part of the township virtually my whole life disappear.”
Newman said Township Committee is working with the developer to put the best plan forward by allowing for development of the project and expanding the township tax base and infrastructure.
“All of this while still maintaining an eye to the rural nature of the township and the concerns of the local residents. We would love to see a development that takes all of this in mind and yet would be beneficial for the township,” he said.
Wilson said he recently saw preliminary design plans for the marina, hotel and other planned elements of the redevelopment.
“It’s playing right into the overall vision former Mayor (Rich) Palombo had, as far as really making this into something really special,” Wilson said. “It’s hard not to be excited. Every day it’s a little bit more exciting because you are realizing that vision that you had one day and seeing something that will be an absolute legacy for the region.”
Wind farm connection
Part of redeveloping the site includes relocation of an electrical substation and construction of another to allow for connection of offshore wind farms to the power grid at the site.
The offshore wind farm proposal includes construction of as many as 98 wind turbines 15 miles off Cape May and Atlantic counties to generate 1,100 megawatts of power. Multiple other projects are also in various stages of development for a large area stretching from the northern coastal tip of North Carolina to just south of Massachusetts.
As part of the project known as Ocean Wind 1, transmission cables would run under the beach and streets in Ocean City, along Roosevelt Boulevard to Upper Township and connect with the substation in Beesleys Point.
Ørsted, the Danish company behind the project, announced last week on its web site that it is pushing back the Ocean Wind 1 commissioning until 2026. However, company officials said onshore work is still set to start this week in Ocean City and offshore work at some point in 2024.
Ørsted reported that supplier delays and higher interest rates are factors expected to push back the full operation of the wind farm.
The project was originally scheduled to begin supplying energy late in 2024 but had been pushed back before to 2025.
“Ocean Wind 1 will conduct site investigation work within Ocean City’s right of way on 35th Street, from Central Avenue to West Avenue, and in the county’s public right of way along Bay Avenue to Roosevelt Boulevard beginning Sept. 12,” an Ørsted spokesperson said.
“Site investigation activities in Ocean City’s right of way are expected to conclude by Oct. 2 with the county’s right of way concluding approximately two weeks later,” the spokesperson added. “The work will confirm the locations of existing underground utilities while collecting soil and groundwater samples. This type of work is common practice for many types of gas, water and sewer utility projects that install mains beneath the road surface.”
Overall, this project is moving forward.
“Ocean Wind 1 continues to advance, with onshore construction beginning in the next few weeks and offshore construction expected to ramp up in 2024,” Hina Kazmi, Ocean Wind 1 program director for Ørsted, said Friday, Sept. 1.
“We have not slowed down or paused any planned project activity. Ocean Wind 1 remains on schedule for operations in 2025, with final commissioning in the first quarter of 2026,” he said. “Further evidence of the project’s progress is visible at the operations and maintenance facility under construction in Atlantic City, to be completed in 2024, and at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, where monopiles are being readied at the nation’s first monopile fabrication facility.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
