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The NRG factory currently covers 15 acres and is located in the 300-acre Con-Edison complex in Astoria (NRG)

According to several Queens leaders, some renewable energy projects will come online soon-the state rejected NRG's proposed peak power plant demand earlier this week.

Local politicians said that the state does not need NRG's proposal, which seeks to overhaul the company's 50-year-old Fenghua power plant in Astoria by replacing its fuel and gas turbines with natural gas generators.

The New York State Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday rejected NRG’s controversial application, saying it failed to comply with the requirements of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which strictly limits emissions.

The existing NRG plant will be forced to close in May 2023 because it will no longer comply with state-level restrictions on nitrogen oxide emissions.

According to the New York State Public Service Commission, the energy loss caused by the decommissioning of the plant — and other peak power plants in New York will be closed at that time — will be compensated by a number of joint Edison projects. Power companies are developing three power transmission projects, collectively referred to as transmission reliability and clean energy projects or TRACE projects, to compensate for energy losses.

These projects aim to reduce pollutants in communities such as Astoria, where peak power plants have been affecting the air quality of nearby residents for many years. Their goal is to help New York transition to a cleaner, low-carbon power grid.

Costa Constantinides, a former Astoria committee member who has long advocated environmental protection, said that when several clean energy projects are already underway, it makes no sense for NRG to put fossil fuel power plants into operation.

"We have all these great renewable projects coming soon," Constantinides said. "Then we will open a fossil fuel plant. It just doesn't fit."

Constantinde cited some upcoming projects, such as the Champlain Hudson project, which will start sending 1,200 megawatts of green power from the US-Canada border to the Astoria Energy Complex in 2025.

He also said that the Norwegian energy giant Equinor is developing an offshore wind farm that will transmit power under the Long Island Strait to a substation in Astoria. Constantinides mentioned the potential of building and storing renewable energy on Rikers Island through the Renewable Rikers Act, which he supported during his tenure in the city council.

DEC’s decision to reject the plant also received U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, Representative Alexander Ocasio-Cortez, State Senator Michael Janaris and Jessica Ramos, Compliments from legislators such as Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and Queens Chairman Donovan Richards.

This summer, State Senator Michael Gianaris, US Senator Charles Schumer, State Senator Jessica Ramos, Representatives Zohran Mamdani and Tiffany Caban held a press conference to oppose the proposed Astoria NRG power plant. (Courtesy: Office of State Senator Janaris)

Ocasio-Cortez called the state's decision a major climate victory for the region.

"Earlier this year, Fossil Fuel Company. NRG began to push the highly polluting fracturing gas spike power plant into our community," she wrote on Twitter. "We organized to oppose it throughout the year while ensuring wind and solar projects. Today, this plant was rejected. When we mobilized, we won."

Richards said that the residents of Queens made it clear from the beginning that they did not want the proposed factory.

“Queens emphasized and made it clear from the beginning: NRG’s proposed power plant in Astoria runs counter to our vital mission, which is to eliminate our city’s dependence on fossil fuels and build a clean, renewable energy As the center of the future," he said in a statement.

"We applaud the New York State Department of Environmental Protection for rejecting NRG's permission and standing with Astoria's family against this disastrous plan."

However, NRG stated that its proposal will immediately reduce the amount of pollution emitted by peak power plants. The company argued that, given current technology, the city cannot be powered by renewable energy alone. NRG added that in the future it can convert the transformed plant to green hydrogen.

The key words of the mentioned renewable energy projects are "coming soon", "development of offshore wind farms", "building potential"... How long will it take for these projects to produce and support the power grid? With the transition of electric heating, we will face greater demand. People place too much trust in politicians, who seem to be out of touch with reality and the time frame for starting and running these renewable energy projects.

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