Fat Usr" by Email and Mail
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?6 THE CITY OF NEW YORK MICHAEL A. CARDOZO LAW DEPARTMENT tel: (212) 788-1574 Corporation Counsel 100 CHURCH STREET fax:(212)788-1619 NEW YORK, NY 10007 April 30, 2004 fat usr" By Email and Mail Hon. Jaclyn Brilling, Secretary NYS Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment Three Empire State Plaza Albany, New York 12223-1350 Re: Case Ol-F-1276 - TransGas Energy Systems, LLC Dear Secretary Brilling: Pursuant to Your Honor's Notice of Schedule for Filing Exceptions, issued April 1, 2004, I haye enclosed an original and twenty-fiye copies of the City of New York's Brief Opposing Exceptions. Thank you for your consideration. Respectfully submitted. William S. Plache Assistant Corporation Counsel Enyironmental Law Division Exhibit Exchange List ^Wd i~m mi -ijOiSSiPvfcs^50 Case Ol-F-1276 NEW YORK STATE BOARD ON ELECTRIC GENERATION SITING AND THE ENVIRONMENT In the Matter of Application of TransGas Energy Systems, LLC for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need to Construct and Operate a 1,100 Megawatt Combined Cycle Cogeneration Facility in the Borough of Brooklyn, New York THE CITY OF NEW YORK'S BRIEF OPPOSING EXCEPTIONS MICHAEL A. CARDOZO Corporation Counsel of the City of New York Attorney for the City of New York 100 Church Street New York. NY. 10007 Of Counsel: William S. Plache Tel: (212) 788-1574 NEW YORK STATE BOARD ON ELECTRIC GENERATION SITING AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE MATTER ofthe- Case Ol-F-1276 Application filed by TransGas Energy Systems LLC For a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need to Construct and Operate a Nominal 1,100 megawatt generating facility in the Borough of Brooklyn, New York City THE CITY OF NEW YORK'S BRIEF OPPOSING EXCEPTIONS PRELIMINARY STATEMENT Pursuant to the Secretary's Notice, issued April 1, 2004, the City of New York (City) submits this brief in opposition to TransGas Energy Systems, LLC's (TGE) Brief on Exceptions. TGE seeks a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need under Article X of the Public Service Law to construct a 1,100 megawatt electric and steam cogeneration plant on the East River waterfront on the border of the Greenpoint and Williamsburg sections of Brooklyn, New York. The City generally supports the construction of new, clean and efficient sources of power. However, because siting a power plant at the location proposed by TGE is fundamentally at odds with existing and planned land uses in the surrounding area, including the City's plan to acquire the site itself to create a public park, the City opposed the TGE project in this proceeding. In a Recommended Decision issued April 1, 2004 (RD), the Hearing Examiners held that the Board should deny TGE's application for a certificate. Significantly, the Examiners' determination was based largely on the fact that the project conflicted with the City's 'land use plans for the area, as well as other major flaws inherent in the proposal. In its brief, TGE takes exception to several aspects of the RD. In this brief, the City responds to four of the exceptions raised by TGE: Exception C - in which TGE takes exception to the RD's assessment of reliability benefits of the proposed project; Exception H - in which TGE takes exception to the RD's analysis of the project's steam component; Exception J - in which TGE takes exception to the RD's finding that the project conflicts with future land uses; and Exception K - in which TGE takes exception to the RD's determination that the project is not consistent with the City's New Waterfront Revitalization Program (NWRP). PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND STATEMENT OF FACTS The City respectfully refers the Board to the RD for a complete and accurate statement of facts and procedural history. ARGUMENT POINT I TGE EXCEPTION C: THE EXAMINERS' ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECT'S ALLEGED RELIABILITY BENEFITS WAS PROPER In the RD, the Examiners found that while "the New York City market requires new electric capacity, and reasonably soon, .... it is not apparent that the acquisition of such capacity should come at the expense of the City's plans for redeveloping a scarce resource, namely the East River waterfront in Greenpoint and Williamsburg." RD at 116. In challenging this well-reasoned conclusion, TGE contorts the facts in an attempt to portray its project as essential to fulfill the City's energy needs. First, TGE greatly overstates the City's need for additional capacity. TGE claims that the RD "exposes NYC to a potential, and unneeded, energy crisis." TGE Brief at 14. This statement mischaracterizes the City's future energy requirements. The New York City Energy Policy Task Force recently issued a Report to Mayor Bloomberg titled, "New York City Energy Policy: An Electricity Reserve Roadmap," dated January 2004 (Task Force Report). The Task Force Report concludes that the City will need about 3,780 megawatts of new electricity resources by 2008. Task Force Report at 9. Only 665 megawatts of that total projected need, however, are necessary to accommodate load growth. Id. The remaining need requirements are not necessary to ensure reliability. Instead, they are included to reflect the goals of reducing energy and capacity prices (1000 megawatts) and replacing potential power plant retirements. The only scheduled retirement is the 875 megawatt NYPA Poletti plant, which, if circumstances permit, is scheduled to go off line in 2008. Even the Poletti retirement, however, is contingent upon there being sufficient replacement capacity. Otherwise, Poletti will remain operational until 2010. The 665 megawatt load growth requirement will be provided by plants already completed or under construction. These include: KeySpan Ravenswood, which is complete (250 MW); Con Edison's East River repowering, which is under construction (125 MW); and the NYPA Poletti expansion, also under construction (500 MW). Task Force Report at 11. That total of 875 megawatts of additional supply from projects under construction exceeds the projected 2008 load growth demand of 665 megawatts. Distributed resources provides for another 300 megawatts. Accordingly, even if only those plants that are currently under construction or already completed are in service by 2008, the City will nonetheless meet projected demand growth need. There is no risk of the "energy crisis," despite TGE's alarmist statements. r Second, TGE disregards all remaining transmission and in-City generation projects that are not yet under construction. Proposed power plants, excluding TGE, will provide 2082 megawatts. See Task Force Policy at 19 (as corrected by the TGE Brief on Exceptions at 14). In addition, proposed transmission projects will provide an additional 2550 megawatts, for a total of 4632 megawatts of additional capacity from proposed transmission and generation projects (exclusive of TGE). This 4632 megawatts plus the 875 megawatts already under construction and the 300 megawatts provided by distributed resources, is more than sufficient to address the City's need for an additional 3,780 megawatts by 2008. The RD properly took these projects into account. As stated in the RD, the Task Force Report "has identified many anticipated generation, transmission and distributed resources that could be used to meet a net need of 2,605 megawatts (3,780, less 1,175 representing projects under construction and distributed resources) of additional capacity by 2008, and that need could be met without construction of the proposed facility." RD at 122. TGE, however, claims that the Examiners should not have relied on other projects because they are "very uncertain." TGE Brief at 15. TGE's claims are a smokescreen. There is no reason to believe that the TGE project is any more viable than any of the other proposed projects. Throughout this proceeding, TGE has used its status as a merchant generator as both a sword and a shield. It does so again in its Brief on Exceptions. While an applicant under Article X is not required to provide financing information, TGE consistently portrays itself as more economically sound than other proposed projects. Relying on the Article X exemption, however, TGE has refused to provide any basis for this assertion. TGE has merely hidden behind unfounded claims that its steam component provides the financial incentive that other projects dack. It was shown in the proceedings, however, steam is not the magic bullet that TGE has portrayed it to be. The Examiners saw through TGE's tactic, and stated: there has been no showing that the applicant has any greater access to financing. To be sure, there was no requirement that TGE, as a merchant developer, provide such information in its application, but the lack of that information in this proceeding undermines a finding that the proposed facility would be a demonstrably available resource whose construction should be authorized to the detriment of implementing the City's LUAWP [Greenpoint/ Williamsburg Land Use and Waterfront Plan]. RD at 116-17. The Examiners thus recognized that TGE is no more viable than other proposed projects. Because planned projects and projects already under construction will provide sufficient capacity to address the City's future energy needs, and because TGE is no more certain to get underway than other projects, TGE's project should not be certified "to the detriment of implementing the City's [land use plans]." RD at 116-17. POINT II TGE EXCEPTION H: THE EXAMINERS' DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE STEAM COMPONENT OF TGE'S PROPOSAL WAS PROPER The Examiners held that "the proposed facility, viewed as a combination of electric and steam plant," was not consistent with the most recent State Energy Plan and could not be selected pursuant to an approved procurement process." RD at 19-20. In support of this conclusion, the Examiners cited the PSC's Order Concerning Phase II Steam Plant Report in Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.