Published: July 16, 2008 11:50 pm      

TOWN OF TONAWANDA: Lack of support doomed Huntley

Multiple problems conspired to defeat NRG’s proposed clean coal plant according to the New York Power Authority report detailing its decision to pull the plug.

The technology used to sequester the carbon emissions is unproven at such a large scale facility, with the largest plant in the world using similar technology, located in Norway, coming in at one-third the size of the proposed NRG facility. That factor increased costs to an unmanageable level, said Donald Russak, NYPA’s representative to the strategic alliance that worked to resolve the price gaps.

To make the venture profitable, the cost of the power produced by the new facility couldn’t be priced competitively enough to meet the terms of the 2006 conditional award.

“With the significant technical and regulatory issues to overcome and with an estimated price gap in the range of 50 to 100 percent above market, requiring as much as $175 million to $250 million per year in additional subsidies, the obstacles were too great to warrant further efforts at this time,” Russak said.

Another problem was figuring out who would be responsible for the carbon pumped underground after it was captured. With the unproven technology involved with isolating the waste products, long-term storage could have presented a liability issue for the state if there were problems, Russak said.

“Carbon capture and sequestration regulations do not exist, and therefore legislation ought to be adopted to enable permitting a facility,” Russak said. “Liability and regulatory protocols are needed for site selection, injection operation and monitoring, and custody of captured carbon dioxide.”

The long-term fate of the existing power plant isn’t clear, but the new facility won’t go on without NYPA support. Representatives from NRG hadn’t returned multiple phone messages as of press time, but in a press release the company said NYPA’s move effectively ends their effort to develop a clean coal project at Huntley in its present form.

“In this era of sky-high prices for oil and natural gas, it is critical that we demonstrate how to capture and store greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants so that we can use our most affordable and available domestic fuel source,” said David Crane, president and CEO of NRG. “Of course, we are disappointed in the state’s action today, but we recognize that the necessary funding was not there. The Huntley IGCC project was, in many ways, ahead of its time.”

Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, D-Kenmore, got a call at 10 a.m. Wednesday from the governor’s office to fill him in on the NYPA decision. Western New York isn’t the only area unable to reduce costs connected to these large enterprises to be competitive. Projects of comparable size have met a similar fate in Florida and Illinois, Schimminger said.

“In a way, this project may have been too big,” Schimminger said. “Ironically, the governor has embraced the Jamestown project, which is one-tenth the size of this one and has a smaller carbon sequestration.”

While some are concerned that the project’s collapse will mean the death of the existing Huntley facility, Schimminger said the state doesn’t have a surplus of energy that would easily allow closing the existing plant. Despite the facility’s age and previous problems with emissions, Schimminger said he thinks a closure would be unlikely given the area’s power demands.

“I think any comments people made over the past 18 months that plant closure was the only alternative to going along with this project were using unwarranted scare tactics,” Schimminger said.

In the NRG’s release Crane thanked the area for its support during the process and pledged to pursue new initiatives.

“We will continue our relentless efforts to bring some form of green energy technology projects to Huntley and our other operating facilities in Western New York,” Crane said.

Contact reporter Daniel Pyeat 693-1000, ext. 158.