ALBANY – The deadline has arrived in the effort to receive public comment on plans that could decide the future of the NRG power plant in Dunkirk. Friday was the final day for the state Public Service Commission to receive public input on two opposing proposals, either of which would play a role on the future of the mothballed north county electricity generating facility.
At issue is whether the PSC should recommend the state give nearly $500,000,000 in funding for re-powering projects at the Dunkirk power plant and another in Cayuga, New York. The second option would instead go with a plan to upgrade National Grid’s transmission system, which would effectively close the Dunkirk facility for good.
Supporters of the first plan say the upgrades are crucial to help keep the local governments and school districts of both communities afloat. Critics claim the conversion is simply trading one dirty power source for another and would help to open the door to the controversial practice of horizontal hydrofracking in New York State, which is currently under a moratorium.
Among those groups filing a comment near the deadline was the Manufacturers Alliance of New York, which submitted two separate filings, calling for the repowering of both the Dunkirk and the Cayuga power plants with natural gas generation. In its comments, the Alliance stated that if the plants were to shut down, power would then likely be wired in from Pennsylvania or Ohio. In Pennsylvania alone, they rely on nearly five times as much as New York does on coal fired power plants. With the added demand from New York, more coal burning will be necessary, and more emissions will then be produced.
The PSC is expected to make a decision on whether or not to support the repowering proposal by the end of September, if not earlier.
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