NRG Power Plant in Dunkirk
ALBANY – A lawsuit has been filed in State court to stop the conversion effort of the NRG Power Plant in Dunkirk.
According the Buffalo News, the Sierra Club and a community group known as Ratepayer and Community Intervenors filed a lawsuit Friday in Sate Supreme Court in Albany against the state Public Service Commission, arguing that the regulatory agency’s environmental review of the project was flawed. The lawsuit also claims that the conversion of the power plant from a coal burning facility into a 435 megawatt natural gas burning operation will result in “unjust and unreasonable” rates for National Grid customers. That’s because the lawsuit claims ratepayers will have to pay $150 million more over the next 10 years to cover the cost of the project.
Late last year Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state would approve of the Dunkirk repowering project and in June of this year, the state PSC unanimously gave its approval.
The NRG Power Plant is the largest taxpayer in Chautauqua County. In addition to it continuing to provide taxes to the county and other local municipalities, Officials said the transition will also bring in an additional 50 jobs while also preserving more than a hundred more at the plant
Prior to the lawsuit being filed, the natural gas facility was expected to be in service by fall 2015. It’s unknown if the lawsuit will push the deadline back or not.
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