A proposed expansion of gas-powered power plants on Long Island could supply electricity to more than 1 million homes. The utility National Grid filed the proposal with New York's grid operator.
The multibillion-dollar investment could challenge New York's requirement for a zero-pollution grid by 2040, with one generator potentially opening five years before the deadline.
Here's what to know
National Grid Ventures, the utility company's unregulated arm, proposed three generators in filings submitted to New York's grid operator in August and September, according to New York Focus.
At Nassau County's E.F. Barrett plant, the proposal calls for two generators capable of adding upward of 1,100 megawatts combined. A third generator proposed for the Northport Power Station in Suffolk County would add 450 megawatts.
The oldest existing turbine is 70 years old, according to New York Focus.
National Grid is looking to open the first Barrett unit before the end of 2027 and the Northport generator in late 2029, according to the grid operator's records. The third generator may not come online until 2035.
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New York Focus described a downstate electricity reliability challenge driven by deteriorating power plants and lagging clean energy additions. Against that backdrop, the grid operator increasingly sees replacements as necessary.
More background
The proposed timeline poses a financial risk for investors, as power plants typically recover construction costs over decades.
Those unit costs could top $1 billion each, based on national estimates New York Focus cited, and downstate New York's high construction costs could push the total even higher.
Equipment shortages pose another obstacle. National Grid told Newsday in September that it likely wouldn't have a turbine in hand until the early 2030s, a timeline that could push back the proposed 2027 opening.
Nitrogen oxide exposure is tied to asthma, heart disease, and lung damage. The grid operator projects a nearly 90% drop in peak-time nitrogen oxide pollution once old plants are swapped out. But more efficient equipment doesn't necessarily mean less planet-warming pollution.
New York Focus found that Barrett's total capacity would still climb over 75% even after every old turbine there shuts down, a jump that could mean burning more gas overall.
What's being done?
The proposals require multiple state approvals before moving forward.
No repowering applications for Long Island have landed at the Department of Environmental Conservation, the agency that issues air pollution permits, according to spokesperson Aphrodite Montalvo.
The Long Island Power Authority, National Grid's likeliest customer for the plants, is in the process of updating its Integrated Resource Plan. Spokesperson Michelle Livingston said it "will consider all resource options needed to meet Long Island's future energy needs."
A small hydrogen-fueled generator will also be installed at the Northport site. Green hydrogen might power these plants down the line, but the technology is pricey and hasn't been tested at the scale a power plant would need.
New York Communities for Change and other groups organized a September protest in Northport, and activists have since gone door to door in the area to spread the word, per New York Focus.
"They're pursuing projects that are going to be bad for the community's health, bad for our financial pockets, and just overall not beneficial for a long-term environment," said Kiana Bierria-Anderson, Long Island director at New York Communities for Change.
Where can I learn more?
Massachusetts faces similar questions about gas infrastructure, household energy costs, and the shift to cleaner energy.
• It is pushing faster gas pipeline reviews as high energy bills strain households.
• Eversource still hasn't justified its Springfield proposal, three years after the state requested answers.
• A Massachusetts bill could let neighborhoods switch to electricity and cut off gas holdouts.
• Massachusetts power bills could climb as New England sidelines gas it needs.
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