Competitive Power Ventures, Inc. - Energy Highway

CPV VALLEY ENERGY CENTER
The ratepayer benefits are primarily caused by the addition of a highly efficient generating facility
inside a densely populated and highly congested region, thereby reducing the overall market cost of
electric generation to New York’s ratepayers. The Transmission Enhanced Option provides New York
ratepayers a low cost option to increase the capability of the existing transmission system through
incremental transmission capacity that allows the ratepayers access to stranded conventional
generation and upstate renewable generation.
3.2 Contribute to an environmentally sustainable future for New York State
The high efficiency of CPV Valley and its state-of-the-art emissions control technology will make this
facility one of the cleanest in the state of New York. The Project is expected to reduce pollution across
New York, due to the operation of CPV Valley as an alternative to the older less efficient and dirtier
generation in existence today. Specifically, based on PA Consulting’s independent study, building CPV
Valley will lower NO x emissions, SO x emissions, and Mercury emissions across the state of New York
by approximately 816 tons, 325 tons and 4 lbs per year, respectively, during the first 15 years of
operation. Furthermore, building CPV Valley will lower CO 2 emissions across PJM, New York and New
England by approximately 494,000 tons per year for the first 15 years of operation. Please refer to
Appendix D – Emission Comparisons for a comparison of CPV Valley’s emission to other traditional
generation technologies.
3.3 Assure that long-term reliability of the electric system is maintained in the face of major system
uncertainties.
The reliability of the system is directly related to maintaining sufficient generation resources to meet
the demands of New York’s customers, as well as an adequate transmission system to transmit
electricity to New York’s customers. The pending environmental regulations and low gas prices
continue to raise question about the future of older, less efficient generation resources, and whether
these resources will be economically viable over the long-term to continue to supply New York’s
energy needs. The addition of Valley’s generation capacity in the Lower Hudson Valley provides New
York with the certainty of new clean generation to replace retiring generation. The addition of CPV
Valley and its Transmission Enhanced Option provides New York with a significant increase in new
generation from the Project, as well as access to bottled generation that currently is not deliverable
throughout the system.
Over the years, various NYISO studies have identified the need for additional generation and
transmission in the Lower Hudson Valley region to address reliability concerns under certain planning
scenarios. With the potential retirement of the older units discussed above and an economic
recovery, CPV Valley provides New York with certainty and options to improve the long-term
reliability of the electric system. Also, as discussed previously in Section 2.3, the Valley Energy Center
offers additional system reliability enhancement through its ability to operate on fuel oil should New
York experience any interruptions in natural gas supply.
3.4 Encourage development of utility-scale renewable generation resources throughout the State
CPV Valley utilizes advanced combined-cycle technology, which is one the most efficient and flexible
generation technologies available today. The duct firing capability for peak power output along with
the fast ramping capability of the facility provide the NYISO’s system operations significant flexibility
and enhanced performance. This flexibility is essential for supporting intermittent solar and wind
generation.
The Transmission Enhanced Option discussed previously would also create approximately 450MW of
incremental transmission capability through the UPNY-SENY interface. This incremental transfer
capability could be utilized by existing and/or new utility-scale renewable resources to be deliverable
throughout the state (and more specifically downstate).
New York Energy Highway
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