Indian Point Retirement Study Shows No Reliability Need
New York to Have Sufficient Power Supply When Facility Closes in 2021
Albany, NY, 12/13/17 – With the announcement earlier this year that the Indian Point Energy Center will cease operations in 2021, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) began conducting a Deactivation Assessment to determine whether the facility’s retirement will result in a reliability need for the system. The Deactivation Assessment, released today, found that New York will have enough resources available when Indian Point retires, assuming planned resources come online.
The NYISO Assessment examined two scenarios. The first included the CPV Valley Energy Center, Cricket Valley Energy Center and the Bayonne Energy Center Uprate in-service, and determined the addition of those facilities will result in no reliability need when Indian Point shutters. The second model removed those three facilities and showed a 100 megawatt (MW) reliability need beginning in 2021 and growing each year up to 600 MW in 2027.
IPPNY President & CEO Gavin J. Donohue said, “The NYISO’s Reliability Study tells us exactly what we expected: New York will have sufficient resources to ensure reliability when Indian Point shuts down. That is a credit to the in-state generators that repowered or decided to build in the Lower Hudson Valley as a result of proper market signals. Since the Lower Hudson Valley zone was put in place, ratepayers have seen 1,000 MW of resources come back online in that area at a savings of $400 million in capacity costs. That keeps the lights on and costs to consumers low.”
Donohue continued, “It is also essential to appreciate the important role that investment in new natural gas facilities plays in maintaining reliability. The fact of the matter is that, without existing facilities in the Lower Hudson Valley and new plants like the nearly complete CPV Energy Center, there would be a reliability need. As New York moves toward a clean energy future, continued investment in natural gas and electricity transmission infrastructure will be needed. New York will need to transmit natural gas to locations where it is needed to maintain electric system reliability, and natural gas facilities help bridge the gap for the operation of more variable renewable energy resources.”
Earlier in the year, IPPNY released a fact sheet looking at the reliability impacts of the Indian Point closure, as well as possible replacements, which can be viewed online here: http://bit.ly/2mwPNvi
The NYISO’s Reliability Study, in large part, is consistent with the observations of the fact sheet.
###
IPPNY is an Albany-based trade association representing the competitive power supply industry in New York State. IPPNY Members generate over 75 percent of New York's electricity using a wide variety of generating technologies and fuels including hydro, nuclear, wind, coal, oil, natural gas and biomass. They have invested over $10 billion in their facilities and employ over 10,000 people. Annually, they pay over $600 million in taxes and invest more than $55 million in their communities.
