Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and eight members of New York’s congressional delegation say they oppose NRG Energy’s proposal for the Astoria power plant, writing that it “undermines the progress towards a more sustainable future” in a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday, March 9.
NRG, a large fossil fuel company, is seeking the state’s approval to upgrade the 50-year-old turbine at their Astoria power plant with new natural gas-fired power. Their current power plant is a peaker plant, which operates when there’s a high demand in electricity by burning fossil fuels that emit harmful air pollutants. NRG is proposing the project stays as a peaking facility but will add new technology they say would provide “immediate clean air benefits.”
