NRG Power Plant in Dunkirk
DUNKIRK – It’s now official. The NRG power plant in Dunkirk will be making the conversion from a coal-burning power plant to a natural gas burning facility.
On Thursday the state Public Service Commission unanimously approved the repowering of NRG into a 435 megawatt natural gas facility. The project’s green light by the regulatory agency caps a several year-long struggle to gain support to save the generator from closing.
Senator Cathy Young led the charge as Chair of PowerUpWNY, a coalition of labor, business, governmental and community leaders who banded together to fight for the project. In a media release, she said that the outcome is fantastic and shows that if a goal is worth achieving, it is worth fighting for.
Last December, Governor Andrew Cuomo made a stop in Dunkirk to announce that the repowering project would move forward. This week’s action is the final step needed to begin that process. The project is slated to be completed in September of 2015.
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