Danskammer withdraws plans to expand Hudson River power plant

Danskammer Energy, the operator of a gas-fired power plant along the Hudson River, has officially withdrawn its plans to expand the facility. This marks the end of a long legal battle that began in 2021 when the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied Danskammer’s initial request to modify its operating permit.

The latest and decisive legal battle will shutter a plant that Riverkeeper has been active in opposing for decades. Danskammer and other power plants on the river for decades used the Hudson as the source of cooling water, sucking in millions of fish, eggs, and larvae annually at each plant, and discharging heated water to the detriment of local ecosystems. The effort to stop the multifaceted impacts of these power plants dates to the dawn of the modern environmental movement in the 1960s.

Danskammer’s proposed $500 million upgrade, announced in 2018 and pitched as a way to modernize the plant with lower emissions and updated turbines, was marketed as a bridge to achieve the renewable energy targets set out in New York’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). However, the DEC determined that the project was incompatible with the CLCPA’s greenhouse gas emissions limits, leading to the denial of the operating permit in 2021.

In response to the DEC’s 2021 decision, Danskammer pursued legal action on two fronts. First, the company sought judicial review of the agency’s decision in the Orange County Supreme Court. Represented by the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Riverkeeper petitioned the court for status as amicus or “friend of the court”, and submitted a legal brief raising issues related to New York’s Green Amendment. In June 2022 the court dismissed Danskammer’s challenge, affirming that the DEC has the authority under the CLCPA to deny permits inconsistent with the state’s climate goals. The court denied Riverkeeper’s motion to submit the brief because it was superfluous, given the decision reached.

Simultaneously, Danskammer filed an appeal to a DEC Administrative Law Judge for review of the agency’s determination. After Riverkeeper successfully motioned for amicus status in the administrative hearing, Danskammer sought a one-year stay on its permit application. In June 2024, the company chose to withdraw its application entirely, signaling an end to its efforts to expand the plant.

Riverkeeper views this outcome as a significant victory for environmental protection in New York. The court decision reaffirms the DEC’s authority to scrutinize projects that could exacerbate the climate crisis and uphold the state’s leadership on environmental issues. Riverkeeper remains committed to supporting the DEC and other regulatory bodies in their mission to safeguard the environment and protect communities from harmful emissions.