The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced on October 27, 2021, that it has rejected Title V air permit applications for NRG Energy’s proposed Astoria Replacement Project and Danskammer Energy LLC's planned Danskammer Energy Center.[1] [2] The DEC rejected the two proposed natural gas-fired plants because their project emissions are inconsistent with achieving the goals set out in New York’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). New York’s 2019 climate law requires the state to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 85% below 1990 levels by 2050. The law also requires the state's electricity to be emissions-free by 2040.
Danskammer Energy submitted its air permit application on December 3, 2019, for a 536 MW plant in Newburgh, New York. Astoria Gas Turbine Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, submitted its application on April 27, 2020, for a proposed 437 MW facility in Astoria, New York. Both companies put forth several arguments for why the proposed projects meet the requirements of the climate law, including that the projects have lower emissions than the plants they would be replacing. The companies also cited the potential future use of renewable natural gas and hydrogen, which would lower the plants’ environmental impact. NRG and Danskammer Energy have 30 days to appeal the DEC's decision and request an administrative adjudicatory hearing.