Gavin Donohue on amNY: To reach green goals, New York needs peakers that run on gas
IPPNY President and CEO Gavin Donohue has a new op-ed up on amNY this week looking at the need for dispatchable resources as we build the grid of the future. There has been vocal opposition to peaking units in New York City lately, but as the grid becomes more renewable-heavy, these units will provide a critical backup to ensure we keep the lights on.
Further, these same facilities can be upgraded to run on renewable fuels like green hydrogen in the future so we can ensure reliability while meeting the critical Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act benchmark of a zero-emitting power sector by 2040.
From the op-ed:
"Moving to a zero-emitting grid requires the long-term embrace of wind, solar, nuclear, storage, and dispatchable generation that captures carbon or utilizes carbon-free fuel. All solutions must be on the table because electric system reliability is paramount. As we diversify our system and work toward a more renewable-based grid, we must acknowledge that renewables are intermittent. In other words, the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. Keeping the lights on requires that electricity is available on demand, which is why we must have the correct technologies to backup renewable generation."
Read the full piece on amNY now.
