(Credit: NJ Transit)NJ Transit, the organization that operates New Jersey’s public transportation system, is soliciting technical design and construction solutions for its NJ Transitgrid project, and is offering an incentive to short-listed bidders. The NJ Transit board of directors approved $3 million for a competitive bidder stipend program to qualified bidders in order to incentivize the international developer community and “foster the most creative, environmentally-sound bid proposals,” the board says.
The board will also hire a renewables energy consultant to assist in the project’s multi-step design and feasibility process; it is calling the move a “re-imagined path forward for NJ Transitgrid.” The consultant will assist in maximizing the renewables scope of the project, conduct a review of recent utility scale renewables and storage projects of similar capabilities, and support the evaluation of renewables team experience. Announced in 2019, NJ Transitgrid is a critical resiliency project that ensures NJ Transit can maintain limited but vital rail service for customers in the event of local and regional power interruptions.
This week, the board also created an ad hoc Energy and Sustainability Policy Committee to oversee NJ Transit’s efforts and ensure renewable energy technologies are incorporated into the $557 million power reliability project.
The NJ Transitgrid will be a microgrid capable of disconnecting from the traditional grid to operate autonomously; a handful of stations will be equipped with localized power generation for use during commercial power disruptions. Additionally, a pilot project at the Wayne Bus Garage will see the development of a solar canopy to power the facility and to offset electrical use during regular operations. NJ Transit was awarded a $46 million funding grant from the FTA to build the distributed generation portion of its Transitgrid project, wrote Mass Transit Mag last year. Overall, NJ Transit has been awarded more than $409 million in federal funds for NJ Transitgrid. The project is a result of a partnership between NJ Transit, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the US Department of Energy, and the FTA.
