Gov. Phil Murphy remained noncommittal Thursday on whether he supports or disapproves of a proposed gas-fired power plant in the Meadowlands, saying it is still in the early stages of review by his environmental regulators.

Standing a mile from where the North Bergen Liberty Generating plant would be built, Murphy declined to comment on what he thinks of the project even though it seemingly runs contrary to his ambitious clean energy goals for New Jersey.

"The Department of Environmental Protection goes through a series and process that takes a long time," he said. "I would think I would call it the early stages of that. We have to make sure we understand all the facts before we make any decisions."

Murphy was in North Bergen on Thursday morning to celebrate the opening of a bridge connecting busy Tonnelle Avenue with Westside Avenue. He spent much of the event with North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who is pushing hard for the power plant to be approved.

About a dozen protesters urged Murphy to deny key permits for the project, which would generate electricity exclusively for New York. After the event ended, Murphy went over to the protesters and spoke briefly with North Bergen resident Janet Glass, who told him to skip the permitting process and dump the project.

"I have enormous respect for your concerns," Murphy told Glass as they held hands in the 40-degree weather. "Please, if you could allow us to chop through that process, and I promise you we're doing that."

Opposition to the plant's construction has grown over the past several months as 41 nearby towns and regional groups have voiced opposition, including the Hackensack Meadowlands Municipal Committee and the Bergen League of Municipalities.

Supporters are few but influential. Sacco, who is also a state Senator, wields significant power in Hudson County, a key Democratic stronghold. Labor unions say the plant will provide thousands of construction jobs. Unions were the backbone of Murphy's support last year in his run to the governorship.

The plant is proposed by the Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Generating Corp. If built, it would be one of the largest electricity generators in the state, at 1,200 megawatts.

None of that power would go to New Jersey, however. It would be transported via a 6.5-mile underground cable to Con Edison's plant on Manhattan's west side, where it could power as many as 1.2 million households.

Diamond Generating executives have said the plant would produce 2.5 million to 2.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year — similar to what is emitted from PSE&G's gas-fired Bergen Generating plant in Ridgefield.

The demonstration Thursday was organized by advocacy groups Food and Water Watch and GreenFaith.

Glass said she hoped Murphy would take their concerns to heart considering that the governor's environmental agenda includes lowering the carbon footprint of New Jersey so by 2050 all electricity is produced by renewable sources like solar and wind.

"He didn't have to come over here and speak to us so I'm grateful for that," said Glass, past president of the Bergen Ethical Culture Society. "I just hope he listens to what we have to say."

Email: fallon@northjersey.com

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