PSEG Power retires last coal plant in push for net-zero carbon emissions goal

PSEG Power announced Tuesday that, as of May 31, the retirement of the Bridgeport Harbor Station coal plant in Connecticut.

Bridgeport Harbor Station was PSEG’s last coal facility, and its closure reflects a major milestone of the company’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions.

“The retirement of Bridgeport Harbor Station Unit 3 marks the end of an era for the City of Bridgeport and the citizens who relied on its power,” PSEG Chairman, President and CEO Ralph Izzo said. “I’m grateful to the generations of employees who operated this unit safely and reliably for more than 50 years and to the entire Bridgeport community for their support.”

Bridgeport had been in service since 1968. Originally designed to utilize either oil or coal for service, its BHS 3 was converted to a full-time coal unit in 2002, with the capability to provide 400 MW of peaking capacity. This was the last of the facility’s coal units remaining in service, and its time was marked from the moment BHS 5, a 485 MW natural gas power plant, debuted in 2019.

However, BHS 3 had a major final run, thanks to a bout of freezing weather earlier this year. As a result, it ran for nearly two uninterrupted months in January and February to provide additional power to the grid.

“For PSEG, the retirement of BHS 3 marks the end of our company’s coal era, reflecting a nationwide trend toward the use of cleaner fuels to generate the electricity we need to power our lives,” Izzo said. “Newer, more economic and highly efficient power plants like BHS 5 will play a critical role in shrinking our carbon footprint as we address the challenges of climate change and help set Connecticut on a path toward its cleaner energy future.”

Bridgeport Harbor Station was originally owned and operated by United Illuminating Co., but after being sold to WISVEST in 1999, PSEG Power Connecticut bought and took over the facility in 2002. The company hopes to explore divestiture options for the plant’s fossil and solar assets by the end of the year.