The Reboot

The Capitol reported on the support for repowering power plants in order to reduce pollution, and also of the financial issue that still remains at hand. Senator Gianaris calls for an aggressive approach for this initiative in order to reduce more megawattage and also reduce pollution dramatically.

NRG Energy is ready to tear down its power plant in Astoria and build a new one that’s cleaner, more efficient and more productive.

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Many of the plant’s neighbors back the idea, the state’s Public Service Commission has given the go-ahead, and now Gov. Andrew Cuomo is citing repowering projects like NRG’s as a source of replacement energy if he succeeds in shutting down the nuclear reactors at Indian Point.

The only obstacle? NRG hasn’t found a buyer willing to sign on for a long-term contract, which it needs to secure financing. And it doesn’t expect to get the loan it needs unless the state or the city intervenes.

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“It’s foolish that we haven’t been aggressively promoting this, because it both deals with our energy needs by creating more megawattage and also reduces pollution dramatically,” said State Sen. Michael Gianaris, a Democrat from Queens. “That’s the one gaping hole that could have a real, significant impact on the environment that we are not pursuing aggressively enough.”

Even the passage this year of a new Article X law, which streamlines the permitting process for new or retrofitted power plants, will have less impact than if government intervenes directly in calling for a repowering project, Gianaris added.

Read the full article here.