The Neptune Project: Background

Neptune Regional Transmission System, LLC (Neptune) is the developer, owner, and operator of a 65-mile-long, 660 megawatt undersea electric high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission cable connecting PJM, the regional electric power grid that includes New Jersey, with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) on Long Island, New York. The project includes construction of two converter stations that convert alternating current (AC) power to direct current (DC) power, or vice versa. One of the converter stations is located in Sayreville, New Jersey. An undersea cable runs from the Sayreville converter station under the Raritan River and into Raritan Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The cable is buried under water for a distance of approximately 50 miles before making landfall offshore at Jones Beach on Long Island. It then proceeds underground alongside the Wantagh State Parkway to a second converter station site in North Hempstead, New York.

The Neptune Sayreville Converter Station

In July 2005, Neptune acquired the land parcel for the converter station (Block 175, Lot 12 02) from the Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency. This land was formerly owned and occupied by the Sayre & Fisher Brick Company (1850 - 1970). Neptune commenced Construction in Fall 2005 and Operations commenced Summer 2007. Neptune entered into a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement with the Borough of Sayreville, providing predictable annual revenues for many years to come.

The Sayre & Fisher Company (S&F) was founded in 1850 and became, for a time, the largest brick manufacturer in the U.S.The company went out of business and most buildings were demolished in 1970 (Fraser 1970). S & F is a historic archaeological site that has been determined to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Prior to construction of the Neptune Converter Station at the location of S & F, portions of this site had been subjected to an archaeological investigation conducted by Panamerican Consultants Inc in 2002. Another portion of the S & F has been investigated by Louis Berger and Associates in 1990. As part of the mitigation for this archaeological site Neptune contracted Ecology and Environment, Inc. (E & E) to design this website which is dedicated to the history of S & F. The historical research for this web site was conducted by Leonid Shmookler and Jeremy Crowley of E & E, and Vanessa Gates-Elston of Neptune.