Dive Brief:
- A new capacity zone in southeastern New York is playing a significant role in bolstering needed investment in power generation, according to the New York ISO.
- More than 1,900 MW of power resources will be added in southeastern New York and elsewhere and are expected to result savings of about $400 million, Platts reports.
- The additional resources include the 495-MW Danskammer Generating Station in Newburgh, N.Y., and the 557-MW Bowline Generating Facility in Haverstraw, N.Y. Both are primarily natural gas plants.
Dive Insight:
The creation of a new capacity zone in southeastern New York, while controversial at its inception, has helped send better market signals to generators, spurred investment in refurbishing older units and will save $400 million next year according to the grid operator.
“Earlier this year, we identified reliability needs that would begin in 2019. Fortunately, the new capacity zone in southeastern New York encouraged power producers to revitalize significant generating resources in the region," NYISO President and CEO Stephen Whitley said. "These investments address the identified reliability needs and are expected to produce $400 million in savings next year."
A reliability needs assessment issued in the fall found that New York’s electric system would violate resource adequacy criteria beginning in 2019 due to inadequate resource capacity located in southeastern New York. But following creation of the new zone, more than 1,900 MW of power resources that were not included in the data used to prepare the RNA will be added in southeastern New York and elsewhere.
In addition to the Danskammer and Bowline facilities, several other projects have announced plans to return to service, including the 348-MW Selkirk Cogeneration Project, the 185-MW Astoria 20 Power Plant in Queens and the 435-MW Dunkirk Generating Station in western New York.
