New York City denies permits for gas-powered units
State regulators in New York on October 27 denied the necessary air permits for two natural gas power plants on environmental grounds.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation denied issuance of the so-called Title V air permits for NRG Energy’s project and the Danskammer Energy Center in New York City.
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The state ruled the projects would be inconsistent or would otherwise interfere with state-wide goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions. While natural gas is a cleaner-burning fuel, it is still a polluting fossil fuel.
Danskammer said its energy centre could renew its 511 MW of capacity by utilising natural gas and electrical infrastructure on site, which it said would be enough to meet about half of the demand from New York City. The company said independent studies found it could reduce CO2 emissions by 330,000 tons per year and eventually transition to zero-emission hydrogen power “when the technology is available to transport and store hydrogen.”
NRG proposed replacing a 50-year-old plant that was generating 646 MW of power with a more efficient one boasting a 437 MW nameplate capacity.
Natural gas advocates have argued that natural gas can be a bridge to a cleaner future and also serve as a backstop for intermittent forms of renewable energy such as wind and solar power.
New York governor Kathy Hochul said, however, that she applauded the decisions from state environmental regulators.
“Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and we owe it to future generations to meet our nation-leading climate and emissions reduction goals,” she said.
New York law calls for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2030. All electricity needs to be emissions-free by 2040.
Neither company had public statements on the refusals.