Recent studies have identified a need in 2040 and beyond for some type of dispatchable, zero-emissions resource that can quickly begin providing electricity and run for extended periods. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images
ALBANY — Two downstate fossil fuel plants facing tougher emissions limits and eventual extinction are making a longshot promise that they could someday burn hydrogen produced from sun and wind energy.
But clean energy groups say the pitch is a mirage — a last-ditch effort by the plants to avoid closure by suggesting they can make the switch from burning fossil fuels to a technology that is, so far, not available for widespread use and would present enormous costs to implement.
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“It’s so unrealistic that it’s almost laughable,” said Carlos Garcia, with the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance.
Last year, New York enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act — a sweeping emissions reduction and renewable energy measure that created a legal mandate for cutting greenhouse gases. It requires an 85 percent reduction from 1990 levels over the next three decades and a carbon-free electric system by 2040.
That has threatened the future of traditional fossil-fuel generators that will have to find clean burning fuels or eventually shut down.
Developers at Danskammer in the Hudson Valley and NRG’s Astoria in Queens plant are trying to gain state approval for low-emission, gas-fired plants to replace older facilities on their existing sites. They argue the plants will displace dirtier facilities in New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley in the interim because they would be called on to provide power during times of peak demand, before older dirtier plants. And they are pitching their ability to ultimately run on hydrogen made from excess renewable electricity, arguing such a move would help the state achieve its goal of carbon-free electricity by 2040.
“We believe in 20 years it’s certainly possible, absolutely possible, for the state to get a hydrogen infrastructure that would support this,” said Tom Atkins, vice president of development for NRG. “If that doesn’t emerge, we understand that under the [state’s climate law] we would have to cease operating in 2040. That risk is on us.”
Environmental groups, local lawmakers and neighbors of the plants argue no new gas plants should be approved by the Cuomo administration.
“These companies are essentially hand-waving the problem of continuing to burn fossil fuels,” said Shay O’Reilly, the New York organizer for the Sierra Club. “They’re all trying to be the last ones in the door.”
Recent studies have identified a need in 2040 and beyond for some type of dispatchable, zero-emissions resource that can quickly begin providing electricity and run for extended periods. Traditionally that kind of quick-start capability has been relegated to oil- and gas-burning plants — called peakers — which are less efficient and release more emissions than everyday gas plants. But those types of facilities may take on a bigger role as intermittent power sources like solar and wind take on a bigger share of the state’s power market.
One potential solution could be hydrogen produced from renewables when demand is low and when electricity would be wasted otherwise. Produced through electrolysis by combining electricity and water, then burned with the main byproduct of water vapor, “green hydrogen” has drawn interest from major utilities and energy companies.
But hydrogen as a source of large scale electricity is not close to being commercially viable and would represent a significant cost to implement.
Despite that, Danskammer and NRG have indicated they could switch from natural gas to run on hydrogen by 2040 if it is viable and allowed by the state.
They are not seeking approval to burn hydrogen and do not have immediate plans to store or produce it on site. But in a move to entice state approval for more efficient gas-burning plants now, the developers are suggesting they could use the new technology in the future.
“In no way does this project inhibit or prevent New York from moving as quickly as possible to its renewable future,” said Atkins. “We don’t see how reasonable people can oppose it because it cleans up the air right now, it makes sure the lights stay on and as soon as New York achieves its renewable goals it stops operating or transitions to a carbon-free fuel.”
Most hydrogen used today is produced from fossil fuels. The main input, natural gas, is cheap and the process has been around much longer.
But just because hydrogen isn’t 100 percent clean today shouldn’t deter policymakers from investing in technologies that can eventually use hydrogen, said Joe Silver, the director of programs at New York University’s Urban Future Lab.
“We have invested in a lot of electrification solutions for heating and transportation while the grid is still dirty,” he said. “We shouldn’t treat hydrogen differently.”
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is working on a hydrogen policy roadmap. State policymakers have signaled interest in the fuel, with NYSERDA backing a startup accelerator focused on the technology and its applications. The New York Power Authority is considering hydrogen as a potential pilot for its peakers in New York City.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s chair of climate policy and finance, Ali Zaidi, touched briefly on the issue when he spoke at the Independent Power Producers of New York’s annual fall conference earlier this month.
“What role does green hydrogen play in the power sector?” Zaidi said. “I think the answer to that question will have meaningful implications for what role it plays in the industrial sector as well and there may be economies of scale to tap into.”
There are multiple barriers to hydrogen as a fuel — not just for power generation but also for transportation or heating — that need to be addressed in New York, Silver said. Issues like how to transport it on bridges and tunnels into New York City and clearly signaling that there’s a role for hydrogen in the state’s energy future is crucial to draw investors, he said.
“It can’t be an R&D project anymore and exclusively relegated to the new technology side of things,” he said.
NRG’s Astoria plan
NRG has proposed to replace its 50-year-old 646-megawatt plant in Astoria with a more efficient, 437-megawatt plant. The proposal faces staunch opposition from local officials, including New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer, state Sen. Michael Gianaris (who supported it three years ago) and environmental activists.
The project got a waiver from the state’s siting board in 2019 to skip an in-depth Article 10 review, over the objection of opponents. An Article 10 requires more public input and allows parties to formally request information. Instead, NRG needs approvals from the state Department of Environmental Conservation through the State Environmental Quality Review Act and permits plus a certification from the Public Service Commission.
The replacement plan is driven by the state’s new regulations on nitrogen oxide emissions, which will force the closure of many pre-1980s peaker units in New York City. The New York Independent System Operator has identified a need for such facilities even in the state’s renewable future.
Atkins said that the NRG plan would fill a local reliability need created by the retirement of peakers in 2023 and contribute to filling a citywide deficiency in 2025 as even stricter emission limits are put in place.
He added the new plant would displace older, dirtier plants in the same complex because the newer units would be tapped for power first. The capacity factor for the plant in the first few years would be around 20 percent and then drop back down to 5 percent as more renewables come online, according to modeling for the company.
The PEAK Coalition, formed by groups including the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, is fighting to make sure peakers are replaced instead with battery storage and renewables. The coalition is concerned about the proposal to use hydrogen.
“We see that as a cop-out and basically giving them a pass to build more fossil fuel infrastructure,” said NYC-EJA’s Annel Hernandez. “We do not think this plant is in compliance with the CLCPA target of 100 percent carbon free electricity by 2040.”
Atkins said storage is not economically viable without a long-term contract from Con Edison or the state. Still, half of the 15-acre Astoria site is being reserved as part of the repowering proposal for future battery storage projects.
The new GE units set to be installed are capable of running on hydrogen or renewable natural gas, methane produced from waste or other biomass, according to NRG.
Atkins said the transportation and use of hydrogen is still a theoretical — it’s unclear where it would come from, how it would be transported and what the permitting process would entail. To environmental justice advocates, there are so many barriers to hydrogen that it seems unrealistic in the next few decades.
Garcia, of NYC-EJA, said environmental justice and low- to moderate-income “communities don’t want to be futuristic with their health. We’re talking about what can we do now that’s going to help these communities to breathe cleaner, live longer and not be susceptible to things like Covid.”
Danskammer repowering
Danskammer in Newburgh has filed an Article 10 application to repower its aging 530 megawatt plant with a newer 535-megawatt project. As part of that application, Danskammer too has said it could ultimately run on hydrogen produced from renewables in 2040 because the turbine is already capable of burning 30 percent hydrogen and can be refitted to run on 100 percent hydrogen.
Staff for the Department of Public Service and DEC are pressing Danskammer for details about its plan to use hydrogen to comply with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Environmentalists hailed a deficiency notice asking for more information from the company earlier this month as a positive step.
Once the siting board deems the application complete, it starts a one-year clock on the decision. Danskammer plans to provide more information in the coming weeks.
“Green hydrogen is a new concept, it’s a new technology,” Danskammer president and CEO Bill Reid said. “The skepticism is expected… but we know a lot about it and we know it can be done, we just have to get the capital and will behind it to prove to everybody.”
Reid hinted at a partnership to produce hydrogen from upstate renewables as a pilot that will be unveiled in the near future.
“If in 2040 Danskammer is not needed, we’ll have to shut down, we understand that,” Reid said.
Scenic Hudson’s Richard Webster said there are major questions about the feasibility of the Danskammer plan and potential concerns for the community. Danskammer, he said, should instead consider battery storage as the state transitions to more renewables.
“We’re looking to block all new gas plants, full stop,” Webster said. "If you want to do a hydrogen plant, it’s a hard lift, but we’d love to sit down and talk about it.”
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