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The Essex Generating Station
The Essex Generating Station, located on the Passaic River in Newark, NJ, is a 617 MW peaker unit consisting of three turbines installed in 1971 and one gas turbine installed in 1990.

The plant runs mainly on natural gas but can use distillate oil as a back up fuel.

 plant image
The first plant on the site was completed in 1915 and took just eight months and eight days to complete. This plant supported America's efforts in World War I by supplying electricity to the hundreds of defense-related manufacturers clustered in northern New Jersey. At the war's height in 1918, almost 90 percent of PSEG’s commercial power load flowed to industrial customers supporting the war effort.

location The plant has undergone several major renovations. Units were replaced in the late 1930s and again in the early 1960s. A generator installed at the Essex site in 1963 was the first combustion turbine unit in the PSEG system – and at the time was the largest single-unit gas turbine generator in the United States. It had to be shipped by train –- on eight railroad cars -- from Schenectady, NY to the site.

As a peaker plant, the Essex Generating Station continues to provide critical electricity to New Jersey and the region -- especially on days of heavy electric use.

Key Facts:
Location: Newark, NJ
MW: 617
Fuel: Gas or Distillate Oil
Technology: Simple-Cycle Turbines
Commercial Operation: 3 Turbines in 1971, 1 in 1990
Market: Peaker