The U.S. Army has picked Ameresco to begin exclusive negotiations on long-term leases that could bring commercial power-generation projects, including advanced nuclear technology, to Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The selection, announced Monday, sets up a process that could eventually put modular reactors on the grounds of the historic North Jersey arsenal, though no lease has been finalized and no construction can begin yet.
What the Army Actually Selected
According to Ameresco, the company was competitively selected by the Army under its Strategic Capital Initiatives program to enter exclusive negotiation of long-term leases supporting potential commercial power-generation projects at the two installations. Ameresco, a publicly traded energy infrastructure company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker AMRC, will negotiate each lease directly with the Army. As ROI-NJ reports, the Army made its selections under enhanced use lease authority, a structure in which the United States retains title to the leased property while a private partner takes on financing, design, construction, operation, security, and eventual decommissioning of the facilities.
Picatinny Arsenal sits in Rockaway and Jefferson townships in New Jersey, while Aberdeen Proving Ground is located in Maryland, according to the same report. The projects are expected to provide market-based generating capacity to each state's grid while supporting the host installations' missions during utility outages, per Ameresco's announcement. That development work is beginning immediately, though the company noted the projects were not included in its previously reported backlog as of June 30.
Microreactors, Then Small Modular Reactors
For Picatinny specifically, Ameresco intends to deploy modular microreactor technology in what it calls Phase I, followed by small modular reactor technology in Phase II. The exact technology mix will be determined based on the project's commercial, technical, regulatory, and siting requirements, the company said, meaning nothing about the final reactor design is locked in yet. The stated goals for the Picatinny project are to add market-based grid capacity and to support resilient on-site capabilities for Army installations during qualifying grid outages.
At Aberdeen, the scope described to StreetInsider includes firm natural-gas generation paired with advanced nuclear technology, with Ameresco working alongside Terrestrial Energy on an integrated molten salt reactor concept. Separately, NucNet reports that Terrestrial Energy is set to supply its Generation IV advanced nuclear plant technology for the Ameresco project at the Maryland base. Nicole Bulgarino, co-president of Ameresco, said in the announcement that the projects represent a chance to advance both traditional firm power generation and innovative nuclear solutions, and that the company is honored to support the Army's Strategic Capital Initiatives and advance energy resilience across critical military installations.
Environmental Review Still Ahead
Ameresco has been explicit that no construction will begin until applicable environmental and regulatory reviews are complete. That includes a National Environmental Policy Act review and a review under the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, with the company's work developed in alignment with required federal, state, and local permitting processes. The Army's broader Strategic Capital Initiatives program is designed to engage private-sector partners to accelerate modernization across its enterprise, and resilient on-site energy infrastructure is intended to both strengthen mission readiness and enhance energy security at the two bases.
A Base Built on Powder and War
Picatinny's roots run back to September 1880, when the War Department established the Dover Powder Depot before renaming it the Picatinny Powder Depot just days later, according to ROI-NJ. The Army altered the name to Picatinny Arsenal and established its first powder factory there in 1907. The site itself sits on a former forge used during the Revolutionary War. The arsenal's mission shifted from research and development to munitions manufacturing during World War II, when it employed 18,000 people at its height, according to the same report — a scale that underscores just how much the surrounding communities have long been tied to the base's fortunes.
