New York Officials Deny Permits for Proposed NRG Gas-Fired Plant
New York officials have denied permits for NRG Energy’s proposed natural gas-fired power plant upgrade project in Astoria, a decision made after an environmental agency said the plan was “inconsistent” with a state measure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The state’s Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Oct. 27 said the proposed new power plant “would be inconsistent with or would interfere with the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limits established in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).”
DEC’s determination stated, “Astoria NRG failed to demonstrate the need or justification for the proposed project notwithstanding this inconsistency.” Wednesday’s ruling came after the DEC in July approved draft permits for the Astoria Replacement Project, a 437-MW plant that would have replaced half-century-old gas-fired units in the Ditmars-Steinway area of Queens County in New York.
The DEC’s reversal came after a series of public hearings this summer in which the agency received more than 6,000 responses in opposition to the project.
Lawmakers in Opposition
New York Gov.…
DOE Envisions Future Grid’s Transformation into a ‘Network’
The grid must accommodate more inverter-based generation and adequately handle the bi-directional flow of electricity, but it must also apply alternative grid configurations and coordinate planning and operations across multiple participants and jurisdictions. That’s the vision Michael Pesin, deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Grid Research and Development division, outlined in detail in a keynote speech for attendees at the Experience POWER conference and exhibition, which took place this week in San Antonio, Texas.
The vision is rooted in multiple priorities laid out by the Biden administration, which include ensuring the nation’s power infrastructure is “fully modernized, secure, resilient, and reliable,” said Pesin. Its urgency is also remarkable: “The goal is to have a pollution-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero greenhouse gas [GHG] emission economy by 2050,” he noted.
However, it is already rife with challenges: “In the wake of major rolling blackouts, like the energy emergencies in 2020 and 2021, it is no secret to anyone that today’s electric grid is being pushed to do more than it was originally designed to do, and, designed 100 years ago, it is pretty much based on the same principles.”…