NRG Power Plant in Dunkirk
DUNKIRK – The largest taxpayer in Chautauqua County will remain in operation.
On Sunday morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo paid a visit to Dunkirk to announce that funding will be in place to repower the NRG power plant into a natural gas generating facility.
The governor was joined by several other local and state leaders as he addressed a large crowd of supporters to discuss what he called a special victory for the County.
According to the Governor, the NRG plant will remain open thanks to a $150 million investment by NRG. The investment involves bringing three natural gas units online at the facility, not only keeping it open but also increasing its output.
Both officials from NRG and local community leaders have been working for months on getting permission from the Public Service Commission allow the plant to repower with natural gas. The PSC had to choose between the local plan, or another that called for upgrading National Grid’s existing infrastructure.
The natural gas facility is expected to be in service by fall 2015. Officials says the transition will bring in an additional 50 jobs while also preserving more than a hundred more at the plant. In addition, the city of Dunkirk, Dunkirk School District and Chautauqua County will continue to have NRG on the tax rolls for the foreseeable future.
[…] last year Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state would approve of the Dunkirk repowering project and in June of this year, the state […]