Technicals

Understanding the numbers

Here is some more specific information

Increased Operation

The existing station operates about 10% of the year as a peaking facility for the region. It has four operating boilers with a combined nominal capacity of 511 MW. Two of the boilers utilize natural gas as the primary fuel source with low sulfur #6 oil as a backup while the other two boilers operate on natural gas. It is currently connected to the Central Hudson 115 kilovolt transmission loop and the proposed 535-MW Energy Center would continue to be connected to this line. This new facility would operate 70% of the year and produce 2.3 to 7 times as much carbon emissions.

Danskammer Energy Website

How would emissions of the new plant compare to the current plant?

Danskammer has failed to provide run-time comparison data that is critical for the public to understand.

What we know

The new plant would produce 40 to 50% less emissions by comparison to the current plant.
The current facility is operational 5 to 15% of the year.
The new plant could operate 70% or more of the year.

What we Don't know

What operational times are used for the old and new power plants to calculate 280,000 tons of CO2 saved?
What operational times are used for the old and new power plants to calculate 54,000 vehicles removed from roads?

Emissions Ratio

The following table displays the amount of emissions produced based on the percent run time for the new and old plants.

Both plants are assumed to have the same MW capacity and that the new plant produces half the emissions of the old plant.

If the current plant operates 10% of the year and the new plant will operate 70% of the year, 3.5x emissions are produced.

This would mean an ADDITIONAL 1.4 million tons of CO2 which is the equivalent of 270,000 MORE cars.

Emissions Ratio

Danskammer's emission reductions don't go far enough

We can have even more impressive emission reductions with a bio-gas component designed to scale.

Danskammer's Emission Claims

In its 2019 Power Trends Report, NYISO states that new facilities will only meet 75% of the need created by planned power plant closures. Danskammer claims that their proposed power plant would be among the most efficient gas-fired generators in New York, thus, it is projected that it would run more often regardless of the outcome of the permitting process.

Due to its low heat rate and emission control technology, the new Danskammer plant would have rates of CO2, NOx, and SO2 emissions that are among the lowest in the NYISO system per MWh of power generated.
Because of its superior efficiency and lower expected variable costs, the new Danskammer plant would tend to displace generation by other facilities thus reducing total emissions.

Lower regional CO2 emissions

In 2018, fossil fuel generators in the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) power market emitted 30 million tons of CO2 and produced 57 terawatt-hours of generation, for an average CO2 emissions rate of 0.53 tons per MWh. At its summer full-output heat rate, the proposed energy center would have a CO2 emissions rate of approximately 0.40 tons per MWh.

Production cost modeling estimates that region-wide emissions of CO2 would decline by 332,825 tons with the new Danskammer plant in service.

Lower regional NOx and SOx emissions

In 2018, the existing Danskammer Generating Station had a realized NOx emissions rate of 0.963 tons per GWh and a realized SO2 emissions rate of 0.070 tons per GWh. At the same time, fossil units in NYISO had a realized generation-weighted NOx emission rate of 0.164 tons per GWh and a realized average SO2 emissions rate of 0.084 tons per GWh.

Production cost modeling performed for this application found that NOx emissions would decline by 242 tons in New York and 463 tons region-wide with the Project modeled in service, while SO2 emissions would decrease by 161 tons in New York and 437 tons region-wide.

A Carbon Neutral Solution

As the world transitions to greener energy solutions, bio-fuels are anticipated to make up a significant portion of power production throughout the world. They offer a more efficient and reliable source of energy that would compliment the services of solar panels and windmills. In addition to offering cleaner air and an eco-friendly future, bio-energy systems improve biodiversity, reduce pollution, and mitigate climate change.

A bio-gas power generation plant with the equivalent run-time capacity of the old plant would theoretically represent:

A reduction of 560,000 tons of carbon dioxide
The elimination of 108,000 vehicles

What does MW mean for a power plant?

The values represents how much energy the generator produces over the specified time.

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) is the organization that controls the state’s energy grid, and makes the decisions on when different power producers need to run statewide. Ultimately, NYISO will determine how often Danskammer runs, whether the plant is modernized or not. Current models show that a new Danskammer could run approximately 70% of the time.

Electricity production

The following table shows the total amount of energy produced in MW by a power plant of a specific MW capacity over time.

A 500 MW plant that runs 70% of the time, or about 250 days per year, produces approximately 3,000,000 MW / year.

If the plant receives $0.10 for every kW, that's a gross revenue of $300,000,000 per year. What was the PILOT (tax) deal?............

Total MW Output

How much raw material is required to produce the power?

The value represents how much the equivalent amount over the time span of 1 year.

The amount of fuel that Danskammer uses will depend on how often the facility runs, which is controlled by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), the organization that controls New York’s energy grid. With the planned closure of other regional facilities, the new Danskammer Energy Center would be called upon to run more often.

Danskammer's proposed 1.7 million gallon fuel oil tank would permit the storage of a secondary fuel source that is capable of providing the equivalent of approximately 1% of annual energy output when the plant is operating at 70% capacity.

Energy equivalence

The following table shows energy consumption of homes and the equivalent production in terms of oil and coal per year.

A 500 MW plant that runs 70% of the year generates the amount of energy of 4.2 million barrels of oil or 1.2 million tons of coal.

Please note that these numbers were derived from the values provided by a facility that is listed on the examples page.

Energy Equivalence

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