ALBANY, New York — Two aging fossil fuel plants targeted for retirement under state emissions regulations need to stay online to address reliability concerns, according to New York’s grid operator.
The New York Independent System Operator informed the state last month that two barge-mounted plants — Gowanus and Narrows in Brooklyn — should be allowed to keep running until 2029. The decision comes as the grid operator warns of major summer reliability risks if the state experiences a once in a 100-year heatwave.
“Looking forward, we have limited dispatchable capability on the system, and that’s going to lead to greater operational challenges that we’re quite concerned about,” Zach Smith, NYISO’s senior vice president for system and resource planning, said during a committee meeting this week.
But environmental justice advocates question the long-term nature of the extension for the plants. They say the grid operator should reexamine the decision with updated forecasts once a Canadian hydropower line comes online later this month.
