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Hudson River Gas-Fired Plant Loses Appeal of Permit Rejection

Big Green groups are rejoicing that they have convinced a New York State judge to rule that an existing natural gas-fired power plant on the banks of the Hudson River, Danskammer Energy, will not be allowed to upgrade its gas turbines from older, more polluting turbines to newer, more efficient and less polluting turbines. Such is the evil mind of Big Green that they rejoice in such a “victory.” Big Green, including the Sierra Club and Earthworks, prefers more pollution rather than allowing a company to improve operations for those who live nearby. How whacked is that?
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Hudson River Gas-Fired Plant Plans to Appeal DEC Permit Rejection

We told you in October 2020 that a pair of natural gas-fired power plants in and near New York City were fighting for their lives (see 2 NY Gas-Fired Plants Fight for Survival, Promise Hydrogen Someday). One of them, Danskammer Energy, owns a gas-fired plant in Newburgh, along the Hudson River. Danskammer wants to replace its older, less-efficient system with a newer system (that also burns natgas). Beholden to leftwing radicals in her own party, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul denied Danskammer’s request in October (see NY’s Corrupt DEC Rejects Permits for 2 NatGas-Fired Power Plants). Danskammer is signaling it will appeal that decision…
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Will NY Approve or Reject a New Gas-Fired Plant in Newburgh?

In 2019, a truly dreadful, jobs-killing piece of legislation in New York State was passed (see NY Bill Would Kill Thousands of Jobs to “Save the Climate”). The Climate Community Protection Act (CCPA) mandates the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to eliminate all so-called greenhouse gas emissions from any major source in the state by 2050. The following manufacturing industries in the state are now in the process of closing and/or moving out of the state: glass (say goodbye to Corning), steel, cement, auto, metal casting, food, pulp and paper, aluminum, plastics, ceramics, and chemicals. Yeah, pretty much all of Upstate is in the process of closing down. Welcome to NY and the nightmare we live in. All eyes are on a proposed natural gas-fired power plant planned for Newburgh. Will the DEC approve it? Or not, because of the CCPA mandates?
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Antis Claim Clean-Burning Gas Plant Near NYC Kills Crows, Trees

You know anti-fossil fuelers are getting desperate when they make silly claims like a clean-burning natural gas power plant on the Hudson River (Orange County, NY) is killing crows and trees. One well known anti claims she witnessed the “sudden death” of 200 crows. And the trees in her backyard are “collapsing.” It’s all supposedly because of a nearby state-of-the-art power plant.
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Battle Begins to Build Another NatGas Electric Plant Near NYC

Before environmentalist wackos got really wacko in opposing *anything* remotely related to natural gas, including gas-fired powered plants, Competitive Power Ventures got their 680-megawatt CPV Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda (Orange County), NY approved and (eventually) built and online (see CPV Marcellus-Fired Elec Plant in Orange County Now Online!). Valley Energy Center encountered a LOT of resistance near the end, including some from Gov. Cuomo himself, who tried to get the already-operating plant shut down (see Judge Refuses to Shut Down Orange County, NY Gas-Fired Plant). Now the nearby Town of Newburgh (also in Orange County) wants to retire an old gas-fired power plant and build a new one right next to it. The wackos are already in overdrive against the Danskammer Energy project.
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A Few Old Hippies Protest Orange Co NatGas Plant on Youth Day

Last October Competitive Power Ventures’ 680-megawatt CPV Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda (Orange County), NY fired up and began producing, using Marcellus gas, enough electricity to power 600,000 liberal NY homes (see CPV Marcellus-Fired Elec Plant in Orange County Now Online!). New York Gov. Cuomo tried his best to block the plant from going online, but failed. It’s been operating safely ever since. But that doesn’t stop a few dedicated protesters from showing up when there’s an excuse to do so, just to keep their desire to shut it down alive in local media.
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Antis Ask NY DEC to Shut Down Operating Gas-Fired Plant

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried to stop a fully built, brand new natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County from going operational last year by instructing his Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny renewing an air permit it had approved just five years earlier (see Cuomo Strikes Again: Blocks Completed Gas-Fired Plant from Starting). Fortunately a judge stepped in to prevent the DEC from shutting down the now-operational Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) 680-megawatt Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda (see Judge Refuses to Shut Down Orange County, NY Gas-Fired Plant). Cuomo’s corrupt DEC is just conducted public hearings on the air permit.
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NY DEC Releases Draft Air Permits for Orange Cnty Gas-Fired Plant

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried to stop a fully built, brand new natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County from going operational last year by instructing his Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny renewing an air permit it had approved just five years earlier (see Cuomo Strikes Again: Blocks Completed Gas-Fired Plant from Starting). Fortunately a judge stepped in to prevent the DEC from shutting down the now-operational Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) 680-megawatt Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda (see Judge Refuses to Shut Down Orange County, NY Gas-Fired Plant).
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Judge Refuses to Shut Down Orange County, NY Gas-Fired Plant

CPV Valley Energy Center

Last October Competitive Power Ventures’ 680-megawatt CPV Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda (Orange County), NY fired up and began producing, using Marcellus gas, enough electricity to power 600,000 liberal NY homes (see CPV Marcellus-Fired Elec Plant in Orange County Now Online!). New York Gov. Cuomo tried his best to block the plant from going online, but failed.
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CPV Marcellus-Fired Elec Plant in Orange County Now Online!

Finally! Competitive Power Ventures’ 680-megawatt CPV Valley Energy Center in Wawayanda (Orange County), NY is fully up and running and producing enough electricity to power 600,000 liberal NY homes. New York Gov. Cuomo tried his best to block the recently-completed (costing $900 million) Marcellus gas-fed plant from going online by instructing the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to deny renewing a permit they previously issued, but a judge saw right through that one and overruled the DEC.
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Orange County, NY Gas-Fired Plant Resumes Start-up Tests

MDN brought you the exciting news that last week a New York “Supreme Court” judge (Supreme Court in NY is a lower court, one step up from county court) overruled a last-minute dirty trick by the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to block a Marcellus-fired electric plant from starting operations (see NY Judge Overrules DEC, Allows Gas-Fired Plant to Start Up). Competitive Power Ventures built and is days away from starting up the Valley Energy Center, a $900 million, 680-megawatt natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County, NY. In a last minute, desperate attempt to block the plant (to boost his gubernatorial reelection campaign), Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the DEC to deny renewing an air permit previously granted by the DEC. The DEC says the plant will need a different (federal) air permit before it can start up, effectively blocking the project. The judge stepped in and overruled the DEC, allowing Valley Energy to restart its tests and begin operations. Testing restarted Sunday morning. According to CPV, these final round of tests will take “two to three weeks” before the plant is fully operational and online…
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NY Judge Overrules DEC, Allows Gas-Fired Plant to Start Up

A new hope has emerged for Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) Valley Energy Center, a $900 million, 680-megawatt natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County, NY. Last week MDN told you that at the last minute, four days before the plant was set to start up, the Andrew Cuomo-corrupted Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) pulled the ultimate dirty trick and refused to renew an air permit for the plant they previously issued five years earlier (see Cuomo Strikes Again: Blocks Completed Gas-Fired Plant from Starting). The DEC now says the plant will need a different (federal) air permit before it can start up, effectively blocking it. As we told you in a followup article, the DEC’s dirty trick left CPV with three options (see 3 Options for Blocked NY Marcellus-Fired Electric Plant). Option #2 in our list was to ask a judge to overturn the DEC’s decision (our preferred option). CPV exercised that option and yesterday the judge agreed and shut down DEC’s ability to stop the plant from starting up, which will now happen this week or early next week. Great news! However, the judge’s order is temporary, while a larger lawsuit works its way through the court system. In the meantime, CPV will start the plant, a victory for the good guys. The best part? PA Marcellus fracked gas will feed it…
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3 Options for Blocked NY Marcellus-Fired Electric Plant

Two days ago MDN told you that New York’s tinhorn dictator, Andrew Cuomo, pulled the rug out from under a fully-permitted and permissioned Marcellus-fired electric plant by directing his corrupt Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to withhold renewing an air permit previously granted (see Cuomo Strikes Again: Blocks Completed Gas-Fired Plant from Starting). We’ve since learned that the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) Valley Energy Center, a $900 million, 680-megawatt natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County, NY, was just four days away from throwing the switch and beginning operations. The DEC’s previous delays of the project have already cost the CPV $40 million in missed revenue. How much more pain will Cuomo and his corrupt DEC inflict on the plant? And, what can CPV do now, to overcome Cuomo’s blockage of the project? It appears there are three options: (1) contest the decision via an administrative appeals process; (2) seek a court injunction against the DEC; (3) apply for an EPA permit, which is what the DEC is telling them to do. All three options will take time. Seems to us that option #2 will take the least amount of time. CPV is right now mulling their next steps…
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Cuomo Strikes Again: Blocks Completed Gas-Fired Plant from Starting

Andrew Cuomo is a tinhorn dictator who must be stopped (politically). NOW. Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) Valley Energy Center is a $900 million, 680-megawatt natural gas-fired electric generating plant in Orange County, NY (near the Hudson River). The plant is fully built, and the Millennium pipeline now flows Marcellus gas to it (see Millennium Lateral Pipe to NY Gas-Fired Elec Plant Begins Service). Valley Energy Center is tested, vetted, and ready to start producing electricity. But at the last minute, Cuomo pulled strings with his lapdog head of the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Basil Seggos, and the DEC has rejected renewing an air permit for the facility. The DEC, using trickery and doublespeak, now says the project must file for a different kind of air permit, called a Title V Clean Air Act permit, which requires additional mountains of paperwork and (most importantly for Big Green radicals), more time for “public input”–including at least 45 days for review by the U.S. EPA. Why didn’t the DEC require that permit from the start? Why sandbag the project and wait until they’re ready to flip the switch, and then tell them “wrong permit”? This is an underhanded, dirty trick. It is corrupt. And it is Andrew Cuomo at the center of it…
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FERC Rejects Riverkeeper re Millennium Eastern System Upgrade

In August 2016, Millennium Pipeline, which stretches from Corning, NY to just outside New York City, filed an application for what it calls its Eastern System Upgrade (see Millennium Pipe Asks FERC to Approve Eastern System Upgrade in NY). The ESU would add 7.8 miles of extra looped pipeline in Orange County, upgrade a compressor station in Delaware County, build a new compressor in Sullivan County and make some minor tweaks to metering stations in Rockland County. In something of a miracle, the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation granted permits for the project (see NY DEC Grants Permit for Millennium Pipe Eastern System Upgrade). Predictably, THE Delaware Riverkeeper, hater of all things fossil fuel, moved for a “stay” to block construction and filed a request for rehearing with FERC, and at the same time filed a lawsuit against the DEC’s water permit approval. In March FERC rejected Riverkeeper’s request for a stay, but not the rehearing (see FERC Rejects Riverkeeper Request to Stop Millennium Eastern Upgrade). The other shoe dropped last week when FERC rejected the request by Riverkeeper (and an anti from Orange County) for a rehearing. But not without some drama. In what has become a repeating pattern, the two Democrat members of FERC wanted a rehearing to consider mythical man-made global warming impacts from the project. It’s total horse manure, but there you go. This is how it’s going to be from here on out. The Democrats have politicized everything, even non-controversial pipeline projects like this one…
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Millennium Lateral Pipe to NY Gas-Fired Elec Plant Begins Service

This is a red-letter day indeed! We have waited so long for this day to arrive. Andrew Cuomo (ignominious governor of NY) has lost his battle to stop a short, 7.8 mile pipeline, a lateral/offshoot of the main Millennial Pipeline, to flow Marcellus gas to a newly completed gas-fired electric generating plant in Wawayanda (Orange County), NY. Yesterday the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted permission for Millennium’s Valley Lateral pipeline to begin operation. As we previously reported, once the gas is flowing to the Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) Valley Energy Center, the plant itself will begin operation (see Orange County, NY Electric Plant to Start Up in June). We’re a little delayed. It’s not June, as originally forecast, but hey, early July is A.O.K. As you read this, gas is flowing through the Valley Lateral to the CPV plant. Following yesterday’s announcement, CPV said it will begin final testing of the plant this week, and the plant will go operational in August. Woo hoo!…
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