Who are finalists to build NJ Transit's controversial power plant in the Meadowlands?

NJ Transit received bids six months ago to build the controversial Transitgrid project, a gas-powered power plant proposed for Kearny, but it has made no announcement about whether finalists were chosen.

Could the agency be shifting gears?

"NJ Transit has engaged the Federal Transit Administration on the Transitgrid project," an FTA spokesman acknowledged to NorthJersey.com, without providing direct answers to questions about whether the FTA grant for the project might be transferred to another eligible project.

NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith did not answer questions about whether the agency was discussing the project with the FTA and whether the $409.7 million grant — awarded through an FTA emergency response program after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and announced in 2014 — might be transferred to a different project.

"The project is still in active procurement, which prohibits us from discussing any of the project details," Smith said. "No decisions have been made."

Power plant would be backup electric source

NJ Transit President and CEO Kevin Corbett told reporters in March that the list of finalists to design a gas-powered power plant — which would provide backup power using a microgrid for some of NJ Transit's rail lines and sell power to Amtrak when not in use — would be whittled down from three to two in April, with an award announced in 2024. But no announcement about the two finalists has been made public.

For years, the Transitgrid proposal has elicited visceral reactions from the environmental community, which held protests calling on NJ Transit to cancel the project. Dozens have flooded board meetings to speak out, and in several cases the dialogue has deteriorated into personal attacks, shouting and interruptions.

In response to the backlash, NJ Transit revised the bid process in 2020 to include a stipend and seek bids that would incorporate renewable technology "to the extent that it's technically feasible," Corbett said.

More: Construction leaders attack feasibility of green NJ Transit power source

More: Activists push green energy to counter NJ Transit's plan for fossil fuel power plant

Meanwhile, other environment-related issues affecting New Jerseyans, including New York's congestion pricing tolling proposal and offshore wind development, have also become some of the most divisive political issues this year, making it unlikely that any big decisions about the future of Transitgrid will be announced before the election. This November, all 120 New Jersey legislators are up for reelection.

The last project estimate put the cost of Transitgrid at $577 million, with $409.7 million covered by the FTA grant.

Can grant be transferred to another project?

Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, the outgoing state transportation commissioner and NJ Transit's board chair, warned protesters in May to "erase yourself of the thought" that the grant money could be transferred for some other NJ Transit use.

"So you don’t like the microgrid process, I understand that," she said. "Let’s be clear. If we don’t build one, that money doesn’t go back to NJ Transit to spend on other things, it goes right back to Washington, D.C."

Although it is not typical to transfer grant dollars to another project, it is not unheard of.

Larry Penner, former director for the FTA's Region 2 New York Office, said typically that process is used if a project comes in under budget and there is money left over that could be used for another project.

"You take the funds out of Grant A and you reobligate them under a new grant, which we call Grant B, but it’s very unusual to move monies around from one project that you don’t want to pursue to another project," Penner said. "It really doesn’t look good to deobligate and reobligate," he said, especially for a grant of this size.

NJ Transit received grants for several other projects through the FTA's emergency relief program after Superstorm Sandy, including the Raritan River Bridge project, Long Slip Fill in Hoboken, Delco Lead Storage facility, and a program to upgrade and fortify signals along various rail tracks.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Who are finalists to build NJ Transit's controversial power plant?