Part A candidateSchuylkill River site

Venice Island (JSC)

Philadelphia County · 5000 E Flat Rock Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19127

A fuel oil peaker plant that retired in 2004 with 12 MW of capacity, on a 27.94-acre parcel in Philadelphia County. The PATER study evaluates it for new generation.

PECO zoneEvaluated for new generationDistillate Fuel OilRetired 2004

At a glance

The site by the numbers

Retired capacity12 MW

Retired in2004

Parcel27.94 acres

Adjacent land2.53 acres

Within 30 miles4.06 million

From 900 Conshohocken Rd5.7 miles

Section 4.10

What the report says about this site

“Located at 5000 E Flat Rock Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19127 (coordinates 40°01'59.4"N 75°14'11.4"W), this former fuel oil peaker plant located on Venice Island in the Schuylkill River retired in 2004 and has a retired capacity of 12 MW (see Figure 26 and Table 15). The site was acquired in 2021 by a redevelopment entity (MontCo Today, 2021) and legacy buildings and equipment have been cleared. The site has been decommissioned, but its remediation status is unknown. The 27.9-acre site is on Venice Island on the outskirts of Philadelphia. It and an additional 2.5 acres of adjacent land are zoned for industrial use and rated as slightly rugged. The site is not classified as a presumptive brownfield, and there is no known soil or groundwater contamination. FEMA designates the site as having a relatively low natural hazard risk but being in a floodway. The parcel and nearby parcels are not located within or adjacent to a documented coal mining area and are, therefore, considered to have minimal mine subsidence potential. The site has access to the river and to the rail system, and major roads are ~1 mile away. The site has access to transmission lines and a substation, and a natural gas pipeline runs ~4 miles away. The nearest broadband installation is ~4.5 miles away. The nearest generator is 6.5 miles away. The site is 57 miles away from the Marcellus shale formation. A wastewater treatment plant is ~4 miles away, but the nearest brownfield is ~1 mile away. There are ~4,061,232 people within 30 miles of the site.”
PATER Part A report, section 4.10, page 44

Near us

What this site means for our stretch of the river

This site, listed in the report as Jefferson Smurfit Corp JSC, is on Venice Island in Philadelphia, downriver from us and about 5.7 miles in a straight line from 900 Conshohocken Road. The report describes a former fuel oil peaker plant on a 27.94-acre parcel in a FEMA floodway, and says the site “was acquired in 2021 by a redevelopment entity.”

With about 4.06 million people within 30 miles, it has the third-largest total among the 21 candidates, behind Cromby and Barbadoes.

Read our view on the PATER study

Table 15

Site attributes

Report name: Jefferson Smurfit Corp JSC
Address: 5000 E Flat Rock Rd, Philadelphia, PA 19127
Coordinates: 40°01'59.4"N 75°14'11.4"W
Fuel: Distillate Fuel Oil
Zoning: Industrial
Ruggedness: 2 = Slightly rugged
Brownfield designation: Not Presumptive
On-site contamination: None known
Groundwater contamination: None known
FEMA natural hazards risk: Relatively low
FEMA flood hazard: Floodway
Population within 30 miles: About 4,061,232 (report estimate)
PJM transmission zone: PECO
Evaluated for: New generation

Table 15

Distance to infrastructure

Approximate distance in miles, as published in Table 15 (page 44). The report says distances are measured from a point on the site and “all distance measurements must be considered general.”
Distance to	Miles
Major road	0.58
Rail network	0.01
Major river	0.14
Transmission line	0.08
Substation	0.00
Natural gas pipeline	4.15
Broadband	4.41
Marcellus Shale formation	57.18
Wastewater treatment facility	4.04
Brownfield site	0.95

Table 28

The report’s acreage-based capacity estimates

Installed capacity potential in megawatts, from Table 28 (pages 78 and 79). The report calls these estimates “approximate as they are based on parcel acreage (which may differ from developable land acreage) and single land use intensity values per technology.” The gas figure is the acreage divided by 0.2 acres per megawatt (Table 27). Extended acreage adds adjacent parcels with the same owner.
Technology	Parcel (28 acres)	Extended (30 acres)
Natural gas	140	152
Conventional nuclear	47	51
Battery storage	399	435
Solar	4	4

The report places sites in the PECO transmission zone in its generation category, because projected load growth there exceeds expected generation additions (pages 76 and 77).

Status

Where this site stands

Current status: Part A candidate. Part B will narrow the 21 sites to 5 to 7 priorities.
Next step: Part B will rank the sites and validate the top 5 to 7 through site visits (page 103).
Public comment: Written comments on Part A are accepted under PUC Docket No. M-2026-3059601 through October 14, 2026.
Review meetings: The report says PATER Study Review Meetings are planned for October and February (page 103).

Our view on the study

Pennsylvania is studying two Schuylkill power sites. We think residents deserve corrected data, real environmental analysis and a straight answer on costs before the list gets shorter.

Read our view →

Take action

File a comment by October 14, watch the October 7 review meeting, and come to the Zoning Hearing Board on Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m.

Ways to help →