Bronx Residents Demand Closure of Polluting ‘Peaker Plants’ as State Ramps Up Renewable Energy

Image by Liz Donovan.

Community members and environmental activists demand a shut-down of four “peaker plants” in Mott Haven and Port Morris during a rally March 3.

City Limits

By Liz Donovan

Climate activists, local legislators and community organizers gathered Sunday morning in the South Bronx to protest the continued use of so-called “peaker plants” as New York State shifts to renewable energy.

The demonstration follows a letter sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul and two state agencies by advocacy group South Bronx Unite and other community groups and cosigned by legislators, including senators Alessandra Biaggi, Gustavo Rivera and Jose Serrano, Jr.

State Assemblymember Amanda Septimo, who also signed the letter, spoke at the demonstration, asking the New York Power Authority, which operates the natural gas-fueled “peaker plants” in Port Morris and Mott Havento commit to closing the facilities and to disclose a timeline for doing so.

The plants, which are powered by fossil fuels, are widely criticized for being dirty and expensive sources of energy. They are intended to supplement the energy supply on especially hot or cold days, when New Yorkers’ energy usage is higher than normal, hence the colloquial name “peaker.”

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