New Jersey Transit is moving forward to implement the nation’s first microgrid tailored specifically to support public rail-infrastructure operations in case of a commercial power-grid disruption. The estimated $577-million project is one of five infrastructure-resiliency measures taken by the third-largest U.S. transit system since Superstorm Sandy in 2012, when its rail operations center was crippled for almost three weeks by flood damage to computer controls, backup power and emergency generation.
The system calls for integrating a new central natural-gas-fired power plant in Kearny, N.J., substations and advanced smart-grid control technologies into the existing electrical transmission-distribution network. Jacobs Engineering Group was awarded a contract on Jan. 4 for design and construction support, and to serve as owner’s engineer.