Dive Brief:
- New York's Public Service Commission has given NRG Energy the go-ahead to re-open the Dunkirk coal-fired power plant as a natural gas-fired plant.
- The plan was approved after NRG reached a $140 million agreement with National Grid for power produced over the next ten years.
- NRG plans to refuel three units at the plant, which is over fifty years old, with natural gas to bring its total generating capacity up to 475 MW. Currently, the one unit in operation produces 75 MW.
Dive Insight:
Dunkirk had been slated for retirement by NRG, as the aging plant had become uneconomic to run as a coal-fired plant. But by switching it over to natural gas, the plant's emissions footprint will go down while the electricity will be cheaper to produce so long as natural gas prices stay down. The plant will still be able to burn coal as a back up fuel.
New York is already undergoing a larger move away from coal-fired generation and towards clean energy resources. Natural gas has been touted by some in the industry as the best fuel to ease the transition away from coal, though NRG CEO David Crane notably disagrees.
National Grid said retiring the plant would have resulted in less reliable electricity service for the state.