By Rosemary Misdary, Gothamist
New York state will not meet its goal of shutting down inefficient power plants that only operate a few days a year by next May — and advocates say in a new report that communities in Brooklyn will suffer the consequences.
Two “peaker plants” in Sunset Park and Gowanus are only activated when there is high demand for electricity, like the hottest days of the summer. In July, the New York Independent System Operator, which coordinates the daily distribution of electricity, extended the life of both fossil-fuel plants for two years, citing a “reliability gap” to address 4.5% of peak demand.
In the report, a coalition of environmental groups criticize that decision as “subjecting nearby communities … to extended exposure to harmful emissions.”
“A lot of the costs of peaker power plants are not from when they are operating but actually for the cost of just being available to operate when demand is highest,” said Daniel Chu, one of the report’s authors and an energy planner at the nonprofit New York City Environmental Justice Alliance.
Peaker plants are expensive for New Yorkers. The mostly idle facilities are fully staffed. Between 2010 and 2019, peaker plants cost $450 million annually for around 100 hours of operation, according to Chu.
In a cruel twist, people living near peaker plants tend to experience more frequent brownouts and blackouts, the report states. Peaker plants also release sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, which have an extensive list of negative health effects, including heart disease, cancer and premature death.
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