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Senior Vice President and CEO of New York Independent Systems Operator (NYISO) Rick Gonzalez (L), and NYISO President of External Affairs Tom Rumsey (R) testify at an Assembly hearing on Thursday about replacing Indian Point nuclear facility's energy output. (Tara MacIsaac/The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to replace Indian Point nuclear facility with other energy sources before permits for its two reactors expire in 2013 and 2015. An Assembly hearing on Thursday explored the feasibility of finding alternative energy sources and found many plans, but few funds.
Indian Point supplies 30 percent of New York City’s energy demand, according to New York Independent Systems Operator (NYISO), the nonprofit responsible for managing the state’s energy flow.
NYISO predicts how many megawatts the area supplied by Indian Point needs to run reliably without the plant based on projected growth in energy demand.
To replace the plant following NYISO’s advice, the state must find 1,200 megawatts a year by 2016, 2,000 megawatts by 2020, and 2,500 megawatts by 2025.
The Indian Point nuclear power plant is seen March 18, 2011 in Buchanan, N.Y. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A few projects in the works could bring thousands of megawatts to the city, as could opening up congestion points that prevent a surplus of energy upstate from getting south of Albany.
A project is already underway to add a second circuit to an existing tower, generating 300 megawatts. A natural gas-fueled power plant in Cricket Valley, Duchess County, is in the permitting process; it could generate 1,000 megawatts. If New York utilities invest in transmission infrastructure upgrades, it could bring 1,500 megawatts downstate from upstate. A plan for urban solar farms could generate 5,000 megawatts.
Opening the bottlenecks between upstate and downstate could take a long time and renewable energy is unreliable, objects Gavin Donohue, president and CEO of Independent Power Producers of New York, Inc. (IPPNY), a business association for energy providers.
Rick Gonzalez, senior vice president and CEO of NYISO, agrees that opening the bottlenecks is not the most efficient way to replace Indian Point—building new generation sources is quicker—but he disagrees about the reliability of renewable energy. NYISO gives it the same value as other energy sources when assessing reliability.
Whether or not Indian Point nuclear facility is closed, Gonzalez says the 30- to 40-year-old infrastructure must be upgraded. How the bill for the upgrades will be determined is another matter. NYISO is working on a beneficiaries pay model. Gonzalez says the entities that benefit from the infrastructure improvements must pay.
ConEdison recently bought $6 billion in energy from NYISO and paid $160 million in congestion fees.
“Could investing in transmission upgrades eliminate or reduce these transmission congestion costs?” asked Assemblyman Kevin Cahill.
“Yes,” replied Donohue.
While the Assembly and industry leaders figure it out, Assemblywoman Ellen C. Jaffee wonders how reliable Indian Point is and if it could be a threat to the people she represents.
A water pump necessary for cooling failed on Jan. 10 and one of the reactors had to be shut down. Jaffee listed off several similar incidents at Indian Point over the last few years.
“How can we ensure Indian Point is reliable?”Nuclear plants are believed to be terrorist targets and after the meltdown at Fukushima, more people are wary of living near nuclear plants.
“I represent 30,000 people who live in the peak fatality zone,” said Jaffee.
