Central Hudson committed to carbon cuts

A recent guest column by Dutchess County Legislator Nick Page (“Danskammer has no place in NY state’s clean-energy future,” July 13, 2019) included some misconceptions I’d like to address.

First, Central Hudson supports New York state’s initiatives toward adopting cleaner, lowercarbon sources of energy. To help reach these goals, we’re investing in the local energy infrastructure to improve system efficiency and enable higher levels of distributed resources, such as customer-sited solar generation.

As we make the transition to a cleaner energy system, it’s crucial that we ensure affordability and system reliability. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which oversees the electric grid in the state, indicates in its “Power Trends 2019” report (online at bit.ly/2Z7ZZO4) that “the reliability of the existing system could only be maintained if sufficient replacement sources of power are added within the lower Hudson Valley” following the closure of the Indian Point nuclear power station.

Although there is growth in renewable resources in the region (as solar installations in Central Hudson’s service area are among the highest in the state on a per-capita basis), these intermittent resources require controllable generation to supply power when the sun is low in the sky, on cloudy days, at night, and when conditions prevent electricity production. Natural gas generators can ramp up quickly and are replacing higher-emitting generators as a cleaner and cost-effective alternative. In fact, according to data from the NYISO, natural gas generators filled the gap when the Indian Point generating plant unexpectedly went offline in March of this year, preventing potential service interruptions in the New York City metropolitan area.

New York is rich in hydro resources, providing 21 percent of the state’s energy needs in 2018. Wind contributed 3 percent, while solar and other sources produced just 2 percent. Working together with renewable resources, natural gas, nuclear power and energy efficiency play important roles in achieving lower carbon emissions.

Presently, electric generation contributes only 17 percent of all emissions in New York, while building heating and transportation contribute 37 percent and 33 percent, respectively. If all electricity generated from fossil fuels were eliminated today, the state would achieve only a 24 percent carbon reduction, far short of the 40 percent statewide target by 2030 and 85 percent reduction by 2050.

Accordingly, heating and transportation must be addressed with clean alternatives to make meaningful emissions reductions. Electric vehicles and electrically operated heat pumps for buildings, for example, are ways in which we can reduce emissions. As residents adopt these clean technologies, electricity use is likely to rise, furthering our dependence on an affordable and reliable system.

Central Hudson is committed to making investments in infrastructure, technologies and programs that cost-effectively reduce carbon emissions while continuing to provide reliable, resilient and affordable power by:

• Upgrading electric transmission and distribution lines, including support for statewide transmission upgrades to deliver renewable energy sources to areas of high electric demands, including the Hudson Valley, and investments in the regional electric distribution system to facilitate greater levels of locally sited renewable generators;

• Pursuing the lowest-cost approach to emission reduction by examining current incentives to determine which offer the highest value in lowering emissions;

• Integrating natural gas benefits, utilized for fast-start electric generation to enable intermittent renewable resources, and as a low-carbon option for heating and manufacturing;

• Expanding energy-efficiency programs, the most cost-effective method to reduce emissions; and

• Advancing environmentally beneficial electrification, for example promoting electric vehicles and heat pumps to lower emissions from the transportation and building heating sectors.

Today, clean energy initiatives add $65 million per year to our customers’ bills, which represents about 11 percent of residential electricity delivery costs. From 2016 through 2025, these costs are projected to be more than $15 billion for electric customers statewide and more than $658 million for Central Hudson’s customers. These costs don’t include the state’s other ambitious initiatives, including battery storage and off-shore wind power. It is important that we work together to reduce emissions in a cost-effective and technologically feasible way. We’re advocating for achievable, low-cost solutions to meet our clean energy goals.

We welcome continued conversation on these important issues and encourage our customers to read our paper, “Powering the Path to a Cleaner Future,” available at CentralHudson.com/ PoweringThePath.