Paterson mayor pitches microgrid at Great Falls to Christie administration
Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres is seeking to build a microgrid at the Great Falls to create a blackout free zone in the Silk City.
Torres pitched the idea to the president of the state’s board of public utilities Richard Mroz at the Mayors’ Legislative Day in Trenton earlier in the month.
“We want to make the Great Falls and the power it unleashes every hour, every day the centerpiece of a state of the art microgrid that can bring clean, renewable and reliable power to our city and our state,” Torres said at the annual event hosted by the New Jersey League of Municipalities which allows mayors to directly address governor Chris Christie’s cabinet members.
Torres wants the president to come out to the Great Falls National Park to potentially undertake a pilot project at the location. The Great Falls has a hydroelectric power plant at the base of the water fall which generates 10,950-kilowatt.
The plant is presently operated by The Great Falls Hydro Electric Company. The city took over ownership of the power plant from the defunct Municipal Utilities Authority in 2014. The company has a contract, which expires on March 10th, 2021, to operate the hydroelectric plan, according to city records.
