Dive Brief:

• NRG Energy will spend roughly $300 million to convert its coal-fired Dunkirk power plant near Buffalo to burn natural gas, under a deal reached with the New York Power Authority and others.
• The plant operates at 75 MW but will produce 435 MW when the repowering is finished in 2015. NRG will sell about half the plant's output to National Grid under a 10-year contract guaranteeing NRG $150 million in revenue.
• NRG had planned to retire the plant because of the rising cost of coal.

Dive Insight:

“The state has decided that the plant will remain open, it will modernize, and it will be better than ever before,” New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said. And Dunkirk will retain 40% of its property tax base and NRG will have an efficient gas-fired power plant in a key market.