NRG Power Plant in Dunkirk
Local State representatives are calling on Governor Hochul to support repowering the former NRG Plant in Dunkirk.
The NRG plant operated for more than 60 years. Before its closure, the facility was paying nearly $10 million annually in local tax revenue, including $4 million to the City of Dunkirk. In 2013, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged to repower the facility and convert it to natural gas, but that effort ultimately stalled after his administration abandoned the plan under pressure from environmental activists.
Officials noted that New York’s Independent System Operator (NYISO) has warned of mounting reliability challenges as aging plants retire faster than new generation can be built and as electricity demand rises from new manufacturing and data centers. Senator George Borrello pointed to recent testimony from state energy officials acknowledging that current policies cannot meet the state’s energy needs on their own.
Borrello said the restoration of reliable, affordable energy generation is crucial, saying, “At recent budget hearings, I asked officials from NYSERDA and the New York Power Authority whether New York can realistically power the state under current policies, and their answer made clear that fuel-based generation will remain necessary.”
Borrello added that Hochul’s draft energy plan, “… acknowledges the need for a balanced energy portfolio that includes natural gas for the foreseeable future. That makes it clear that repowering facilities like Dunkirk must be part of the solution.”
Assemblyman Andrew Molitor pointed out contradictions in New York’s current energy policy, saying, “New York likes to virtue signal to the world about not using our own abundant energy resources, while quietly importing coal-fired power and natural gas from other states and even other countries. That makes no sense. In the rush to implement sweeping energy mandates without a clear reliability or affordability plan, we’ve lost more than 4,000 megawatts of dependable power in just the last few years. New Yorkers are paying the price in the form of sky-high utility bills.”
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