MEADOWLANDS POWER PLANT CONCERNS — POLITICO’s Danielle Muoio: A proposed power plant that would be built in New Jersey’s Meadowlands and exclusively feed electricity into New York City is facing regulatory headwinds as it moves through the permitting process. Developers of the North Bergen Liberty Generating plant are seeking approval to build a natural gas facility in the town that would feed electricity into midtown Manhattan via an underground cable in the Hudson River. The developers, Diamond Generating Corporation, say the 1,200-megawatt plant would reduce electricity costs for New York ratepayers, boost local coffers, increase reliability and create more than 2,000 temporary construction jobs. Nearby residents and environmental groups say the plant would pollute the environmentally-sensitive Meadowlands region with no gain in local service or reliability. The proposal has received its first set of permits in New Jersey, but it’s facing some hurdles across the river. In recent filings with the New York Public Service Commission, Con Ed and New York City officials expressed concerns over the developer’s permit request to build the transmission line and have called on the PSC to enact a more rigorous review process. The comments indicate that, even if the project appears to be moving forward quickly in New Jersey, several challenges remain in New York.