The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities recently announced $175,000 in funding for a feasibility study to bring the "microgrid" energy system that would keep facilities operational in major storms. The local grid would be one of 13 projects the BPU is funding statewide with $2 million.
The microgrid project is meant to create an energy system that would keep facilities open in storms such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The grant money provides the resources to conduct a feasibility study and move to the next phase of the project proposal.
Officials at a Friday news conference said a project like this would help keep the city resilient after another storm like Sandy.
About 3 million people lost power, as did hospitals, water utilities and other critical facilities during Sandy, complicating recovery efforts and requiring people to boil water days after the storm.
“Make New Jersey more resilient,” board President Richard S. Mroz said at the conference at the Midtown Thermal Control Center in Atlantic City. “I’m pleased this includes an anchor like this, and a hospital, to be able to keep running in an outage.”
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