POUGHKEEPSIE – The Poughkeepsie Common Council adopted its first resolution since being sworn in last week by opposing the construction of the new Danskammer power plant in the Town of Newburgh.
In a 6-1 vote Monday night with two members absent, the council passed a non-binding memorialization asking the state to prohibit the proposed build-out of the new Danskammer.
The project seeks to replace an antiquated power generation plant with a modern facility.
According to the Danskammer website, “For more than six decades, the Danskammer Generating Station has been part of New York’s energy landscape, as well as the Town of Newburgh’s economy and community. Danskammer has been producing electricity to meet the energy demands of our communities; powering our homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses. Now, Danskammer Energy, LLC, plans to retire equipment that’s been in use since the 1950s and repower the facility with modern, state-of-the-art technology that will significantly reduce the facility’s environmental footprint and support the state’s renewable energy goals. The modernized facility will be known as the Danskammer Energy Center.”
The new Danskammer plant is poised to use natural gas derived from the controversial “fracking” process which has been outlawed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The governor has prohibited the practice of fracking for fossil fuels in New York but has stopped short of prohibiting new power plants from using gas collected via fracking in other states.
The CPV power plant in Orange County’s Wawayanda relies on fracked gas delivered through the Iroquois Pipeline to generate electricity. The CVA energy plant being constructed in the Dutchess County Town of Dover will also rely on gas delivered through the same pipeline.
Environmental activists say that the gas, sourced primarily in Pennsylvania, is bad for the environment and have chided Cuomo for banning fracking but allowing the derivative to be used in New York.
Claiming that the use of fossil fuels for energy production reduces the development of renewable power generating infrastructure, Council Chair Sarah Salem said “the build-out of the Danskammer plant would result in a significant increase in air pollutants locally and regionally, which will negatively impact the health and well-being of Poughkeepsie residents. Natural gas-fired power plants, such as the proposed Danskammer, also release radon, which is a naturally occurring radioactive material that is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.”
Salem also said the Danskammer plant “will increase carbon gas emissions, including methane emissions, which are the most damaging of greenhouse gasses.” Salem lobbied council colleagues to pass the resolution saying “We’ve got to end our reliance on fossil fuels and rejecting the Danskammer project is how we take a step toward that aim here.” Salem pointed out that the Hudson Valley municipalities of New Paltz, Rosendale, Beacon, Cold Spring, Phillipstown, and Newburgh have passed this resolution up to Albany opposing this project.
As a result of the vote, the Poughkeepsie Common Council is officially requesting the New York Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment to reject the Danskammer application and related permits necessary for the build-out.
