Atlantic City considering "microgrid" to power casinos

2017-03-10

Reading time 1:57 min

The possible demolition of Trump Plaza could allow the city to become better prepared to weather future natural disasters on the scale of Hurricane Sandy. City Council is expected to consider a resolution to fund a study to create a power grid that would provide electricity, heating and cooling to as many as 20,000 people during an emergency.

The power would be supplied to Boardwalk casinos, Boardwalk Hall and the hospital through a separate power circuit and is known as a “microgrid.”

The resolution, introduced by Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, asks the state Board of Public Utilities for grant money to pay for the study.

The study comes just as the future of Trump Plaza, owned by billionaire Carl Icahn, is being discussed. The possible demolition of the former casino has forced the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to develop a plan for heating and cooling for Boardwalk Hall.

That’s because the heating and cooling pipes for the facility run through the Plaza.

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Professionals from Trump Entertainment Resorts have been at the site, which closed Sept. 16, 2014, over the past couple weeks. The casino has 614 rooms and a 60,000-square-foot casino, seven restaurants, a health club and a 750-seat showroom, all on a narrow 2.6-acre plot

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Mayor Don Guardian said it has yet to be determined what the future holds for the more than 2,600-spot parking garage.

As part of the razing of the property, once owned by President Donald J. Trump, major infrastructure improvements will need to be made, including the rerouting of heating and cooling lines.

Guardian hopes improvements include the creation of a closed electrical grid in the area, which would connect The Claridge hotel, Bally’s Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City, the former Trump Plaza, Boardwalk Hall and AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.

A microgrid provides power and utilities to places like hospitals, shelters and other facilities in a small radius.

“The question was could we close this (current) grid and add the hospital,” Guardian said. “If we could, then in the event of an emergency, like a hurricane … instead of evacuating the island, we would be able to produce the utilities, heating and cooling to house about 20,000 people — all those hotels, Boardwalk Hall, plus the hospital.”

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The casinos were shut down by the state during Hurricane Sandy in 2012

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“This would be new thinking,” Guardian said. “You would be concerned about the first floor, but above the first floor you could still operate the elevators and the water. You will have all of the kitchens in case of an emergency.”

Improving the resiliency of the resort’s power grid was just one aspect of a $1 billion, five-year capital improvement plan discussed by Atlantic City Electric officials in January.

Atlantic City Electric spokesman Frank Tedesco said he was unfamiliar with the specific resolution council is taking up and said there are no immediate projects planned regarding a microgrid.