The group No Newark Power Plant plans to hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Newark Municipal Building at 5 p.m. Wednesday in an effort to press the city on denying zoning for the Data Centers project.
The move is in reaction to news that city staff will make a decision in coming days on whether a gas fired power plant is permitted under the city’s zoning code.
“ Given the profound importance of this decision it is our view that council, as our elected representatives, should continue taking a more active role in guiding staff on this project,” a posting from the group stated. Power plant critics have packed council chambers and spent hours criticizing the project during the public comment period.
The No Newark Power plant group has allied neighbors and environmental activists in working to halt what could be a $1.2 billion project that would bring hundreds of permanent jobs and thousands of construction jobs.
The group has come up with a series of arguments and predictions of potential environmental disasters resulting from the construction of the plant. The group has also tapped into lingering “town and gown” tensions with the University of Delaware, which owns the STAR campus, site of the proposed project. Also believed to a factor is unhappiness by neighbors over the Chrysler plant when it was in operation. UD went on to acquire the Chrysler site for the mixed use STAR campus.
Data Centers supporter, Gov. Jack Markell has noted that any project would require a series of environmental permits and hearings, adding that a project should not be denied simply because a group of opponents does not want it.
A leader of the No Newark Power plant effort, environmental activist Amy Roe, narrowly lost the election for mayor after running on a platform that mainly focused on not building The Data Centers.
In the meantime, the Data Centers has filed information with the City of Newark that indicates the power plant side of the project could be built in as many as four phases.
Foes of the project have always focused on the maximum size of 278 megawatts in making claims of potential environmental catastrophes and even a micro climate change around the plant.
