Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has been selected by Danskammer Energy, LLC, to supply the M501JAC gas turbine for the repowering of the Danskammer Energy Facility, located in Newburgh, NY. Located at the existing Danskammer site, the new natural gas–fired combined-cycle electric generation facility is expected to generate approximately 535 MW of base-load generating capacity.
DANSKAMMER Energy was purchased by Tiger Infrastructure Partners and Agate Power In December 2017. The existing facility, which was built in the 1950s and 1960s, uses low efficiency gas-fired boilers to power steam turbine generators. It has operated as a peaking facility due to its relative inefficiency and high fuel costs. Replacing the existing equipment with modern combined cycle generating technology will dramatically reduce the amount of natural gas required to produce a unit of electric power output. The new Energy Center will also incorporate quick-start, fast-ramping technology that is designed to provide the New York Independent System Operator greater flexibility to add more intermittent power sources like wind and solar power.
“The project will cost over $400 million,” said William Reid, CEO of DANSKAMMER Energy. “We have an operating power plant now that was built in the 50s. When Indian Point nuclear power plant retires, our modernized natural gas power plant will help fill the void. The new technology will dramatically improve the environmental profile of the plant. We won’t use Hudson River water, and we will reduce air emissions significantly.”
The renewed Danskammer Energy Center will:
- produce 450 construction jobs for up to 2 ½ years while maintaining more than 30 existing, high-skilled jobs in Orange County and the Town of Newburgh;
- continue to provide economic sustainability to local governments and schools through tax payments and revenue that support vital services;
- support a revitalized and renewable energy–focused New York State electric grid by providing lower-carbon, reliable and efficient power to the region;
- reduce water consumption and potential aquatic impacts due to elimination of “once-through” cooling system; and
- displace less efficient generation by providing a flexible generating source that is more responsive to real-time market conditions and offers lower emissions per megawatt hour produced.
Plans call for the new plant to begin commercial operation in 2023.
