Coalition forms to support Astoria energy plant’s bid to repower

The New York Daily News reports that community leaders and residents are pushing to have an Astoria power plant replace old polluting equipment with newer cleaner technology.

A coalition of community leaders and residents is pushing the state to support an Astoria power plant in its quest to replace its decades-old, dirty generators with newer, cleaner ones.

 

Smart Power NY was created to support NRG’s bid for a power purchasing contract, which will enable the company to fund its $1.5 billion repowering project.

 

NRG plans to submit a proposal to the state by May 30.

 

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State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), who has bemoaned the high asthma rates in the area, said this is a “win-win.”

 

“We’ve been fighting for 10 years to get the air quality in western Queens improved,” he said. “Our biggest success has been convincing some of these old polluting, power plants to repower and become more efficient.”

 

Read the full article here.