Archive for 17 July, 2008
”Thursday’s announcement by the New York State Power Authority stopping the $1.6 Billion investment in “Clean Coal” technology at the Huntley Coal Facility is simply a wrong decision and a slap in the face to the western New York economy and the residents of our region.I urge Governor Paterson to reach out to his appointments at the New York State Power Authority to reverse course on their current decision and allow this project to move forward. Governor Paterson earlier this yearcame to western New York and spoke eloquently about improving our region’s economy and capitalizing on our region’s strengths. Power generation is a key component of our region’s revitalization efforts and an industry which we need to foster and grow in order to keep up with energy demands in thecommercial and residential markets.So much for clean air, creating jobs, protecting air quality, and reducing our carbon footprint in western New York. Because of this decision by the New York State Power Authority, our local economy stands to lose 1,000 construction jobs, 100 additional jobs at the power plant and spin-off benefits estimated to average $120 million annually over 35 years. Additionally, air quality would have dramatically been improved for our region, we would have been able to lessen our state’s dependency on imported energy sources and ultimately ensure an adequate energy supply for our region’s business and residential users.
NRG’s proposal (NRG being the owner of the Huntley Generating Facility) offered the highest efficiency, lowest emissions, minimal water use and a clear strategy for addressing potential community issues. Their proposal included an option to design the plant to capture emissions of CO2, a greenhouse gas linked to global warming, as soon as the project went into service.
The new facility would be designed to convert coal to a synthetic gas, removing pollutants such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and mercury before combustion. It would use synthetic gas in a combined-cycle technology for generation of power. Exhaust gases would be used to produce steam for generating additional amounts of electricity.This project is extremely important to our region, and I urge Governor Paterson to use the power of his office to stop the New York State Power Authority from stopping energy and economic progress in our region.”
From: PoliticsNY.Net, Editor- Joe Illuzzi
