Perspectives: Industrial evolution

Perspectives: Industrial evolution

Corey Apirian

CEO – Davinci Micro Fulfillment The No. 1 advantage (of micro fulfillment centers) is that smaller footprints in an added number of areas allow you to get closer to the customer. They also remove the complexity related to massive 100,000- to 1-millionsquare-foot distribution centers. Complexity equals cost. Walking through a warehouse is one of the largest drains on efficiency. Autonomous robotics can reduce that but our smaller footprints make our model a mass model that allows a lot of agility and pinpoint accuracy.

Tim Kroll

Airport Director – Atlantic City International Airport We’re hopeful our growth will be on the cargo side as well, not just passengers. During COVID, cargo activity has increased significantly. With e-commerce becoming more and more popular, cargo has been demonstrating steady growth and is definitely one of our goals. We’re under an agreement with a developer to potentially develop a cargo project and by January, we’ll know if the project to build a cargo terminal of at least 75,000 square feet will move forward.

Jonathan Seibert

CEO – Vision Solar There is legislation in place that is laying the groundwork for a highly aggressive shift toward renewable energy in general and solar in particular. The legislation in place stipulates the conversion of 35% of the state’s power to solar by 2050. The state has done a phenomenal job in terms of enforcement policy to push people to use renewable energy.

( ) improving energy efficiency through stronger building codes and embracing clean energy development. However, critics of the plan have drawn attention to the mammoth task ahead, given that about 75% of houses in New Jersey are powered by natural gas. There have been concerns over the rising costs of developing renewable energies and injecting them into the grid, and whether those costs will be passed onto consumers.

The state is making strides in renewable energy by taking advantage of its coastal location to offset its carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. It has doubled down on offshore wind development with Ørsted’s two Ocean Wind projects, coupled with the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project, which together will develop 3,700MW. The new wind farm has created the need for supporting infrastructure, and the governor last year introduced a $250 million investment in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for wind turbines.

But more than this is needed by the offshore wind industry. Experts are calling for policymakers to address the lack of consistent power generation and availability gaps. One overlooked area is wave power, which experts estimate can generate close to 65% of U.S. electricity demand and can surpass the potential of wind and solar when fully unlocked. The talent gap is also being addressed by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, which is helping roll out certified training programs for offshore wind workers.

New Jersey is also developing solar energy farms. Developer Synnergy obtained city approval to build and operate a 1.3MW generating facility for municipal properties in Millville, Cumberland County. Synnergy had promised cost savings of 35% from the solar field, which is connected to the regional grid belonging to Atlantic City Electric.

The state is also ramping up availability of charging stations to promote the use of EVs. Atlantic City Electric received approval in April to expand access in all communities in its service areas, for a total of 3,250 EV charging stations. However, the quest to roll out EVs has faced some challenges in the past year. A program offering a $5,000 rebate for those purchasing EVs expired in December and ended up undersubscribed. There are now doubts over the future viability of the program.

Utilities New Jersey’s main power sources in 2019 were natural gas and nuclear, together accounting for around 84% of the state’s utility-scale electricity generation. But the state was also the country’s seventh-largest solar electricity producer in the same year, displaying its commitment to the clean energy transition. New Jersey aims to move to 35% renewable energy generation by 2025 and 50% by 2030. In 2021, the state slipped to No. 17 in the country in terms of new solar capacity added after ranking ninth in 2019 and 11th in 2020. This was mainly due to the unwinding of a $800 million per year subsidy package as the state continues to grapple with balancing the cost of renewable energy and making it affordable enough for consumers.

The state is well-covered when it comes to utilities. Electricity is provided by Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power & Light, Orange & Rockland, PSE&G and Vineland Municipal. Elizabethtown Gas, New Jersey ( )