Three More Communities Announce Opposition to Woodbridge Gas Plant

Resolutions and letter urge Murphy administration to deny permits for polluting plant

The community opposition to a proposed gas-fired power plant in Woodbridge continues to build, as three local governments recently passed resolutions urging the Murphy administration to deny the necessary permits for the project.

This week, the North Brunswick Township Council unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the CPV proposal to build a massive gas-fired power plant in the Keasbey section of Woodbridge, next to a plant that went online in 2016.

“Gas power plants are very bad,” said North Brunswick Council President Rajesh Mehta, who noted that plants like the one proposed for Woodbridge are “a leading source of global warming pollution.”

The East Brunswick Township Council unanimously passed a similar resolution against the CPV plant on January 23, and Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu wrote a letter opposing the plant on behalf of the Township Committee on February 13.

Mayor Cantu noted that the governing body in Plainsboro supported the opinion of the Township’s Environmental Advisory Committee, specifically that “the issuance of permits by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to build this plant would be inconsistent with the goals of the State of New Jersey to transition to renewable.”

These latest actions make 14 elected government bodies have formally called on the Murphy administration to reject the dirty energy project:

-Edison Township Council

-Highland Park Borough Council

-Highland Park School Board

-Hoboken City Council

-Perth Amboy City Council

-Franklin Township Council

-Sayreville Borough Council

-Rahway City Council

-Somerset County Commission

-South Brunswick Township Council

-Cranbury Township Committee

-East Brunswick Township Council

-Plainsboro Township Committee

-North Brunswick Township Council

“It’s no surprise that so many elected leaders have come out against this disastrous proposal. It would worsen the climate crisis and make it harder to breathe here in Central Jersey, and it must be stopped,” said Charlie Kratovil, Central Jersey Organizer at Food & Water Watch.

If the Murphy administration issues its approval, the new 657-megawatt gas power plant would be located in a community already overburdened with pollution. According to the company’s permit application, the new facility could emit more than 2.3 million tons of greenhouse gasses each year, along with hundreds of tons of toxic air pollutants – including carbon monoxide, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, sulfuric acid, and lead.