The Greenpoint Energy Center in Brooklyn, New York. (Credit: Alice Finno)
Environmental groups and New York residents are submitting their comments to the New York Public Service Commission in an effort to shape National Grid’s long-term energy plan for the state.
In early June, the British multinational company – a primary gas and electricity provider in New York and New England – presented the Commission with a plan to upgrade its gas infrastructure in New York. But several environmental groups have criticized National Grid’s proposal to expand its infrastructure and use hydrogen and renewable natural gas, which they deem unsafe and at odds with New York’s climate goals.
The outcome of the proceeding could set up a blueprint for the state’s energy system and potentially become an example for gas utilities across the United States. Because the Commission will determine whether National Grid can rely on hydrogen and renewable natural gas (a biogas produced from organic waste), and in what capacity, it could lay out a pathway that other gas utilities may follow.
This regulatory proceeding with the Commission marks the first time National Grid has had to publicly outline in a long-term plan how it will meet New York’s energy demands and comply with safety standards and clean energy goals.
The proceeding is the result of events that unfolded back in 2019 when New York regulators rejected a proposal by Williams Cos Inc to build the Northeast Supply Enhancement gas Pipeline, which would have started in Pennsylvania, passed through New Jersey, and ended in New York. National Grid claimed it needed the pipeline to meet gas demand in the region and decided to impose a moratorium on new hookups in downstate New York while refusing to reconnect service to more than 1,100 previous customers. But a study commissioned by the environmental group 350.org argued that a new pipeline was unnecessary to meet demand.
After former Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to revoke the company’s certificate to operate in New York because of the moratorium, National Grid restored service and agreed to pay $36 million in penalties. Because of National Grid’s conduct, the Public Service Commission issued an order in May 2022 mandating long-term planning for gas utility companies to increase transparency and accountability and ensure they comply with the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
According to its new plan, National Grid would expand its compressed natural gas facilities and develop new projects reliant on hydrogen and renewable natural gas. The company also plans to build two additional vaporizers, used to transform liquified natural gas into gas, at the Greenpoint Energy Center – a 117-acre liquified natural gas site in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. National Grid says its “long-term plan is to transform our New York gas utilities to enable economy-wide decarbonization while ensuring customers have equitable access to safe, reliable and affordable energy.”
But the comments submitted in the proceeding so far overwhelmingly oppose critical aspects of the plan.
“National Grid knows that we have climate law that we have to comply with, and that we need to get off of gas, and that we can’t just decide in 2050 – which may as well be a million years from now – to shut off the switch. We need to start transitioning now, quickly, urgently,” said Margot Spindelman, a Greenpoint resident and one of the parties involved in the long-term plan proceeding.
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which became law in New York in 2019, requires New York to reduce emissions 85% from the 1990 levels by 2050. In order for the state to meet this goal, gas utilities like National Grid will need to decarbonize the gas system and transition towards a cleaner energy system.
Suzanne Mattei, energy policy analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a non-profit organization focused on the energy economy, submitted a comment detailing why hydrogen is not the right pathway for transition. Hydrogen, she wrote, is the third most significant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane and poses significant safety risks.
“Because it’s such a teeny tiny molecule, it leaks quite easily. So those are reasons to ask yourself, why would you do this? Why would you put this into homes when it’s not efficient, when it can re-catheterize pipes and equipment, when it has these hazardous properties,” she said.
Joshua Berman, the attorney at Sierra Club, national environmental organization participating in the proceedings, also pointed out that the pipelines are built to combust natural gas, not hydrogen.
“There is a great question about how much you can safely blend into current pipelines without having to do extremely expensive upgrades,” he said.
Concerns about the use of hydrogen for domestic heating have been raised in multiple studies over the years.
The City of New York noted in its comment that National Grid had not addressed safety concerns in relation to hydrogen or proved that hydrogen could be produced on a large scale without lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the City mentioned that they support renewable natural gas as a viable alternative to natural gas “only if such [renewable natural gas] is produced locally from existing organic waste streams,” but National Grid also plans to import it from other states to meet supply needs.
In its reply comment, National Grid said that the company would use hydrogen and renewable natural gas together with other “decarbonization options” and apply “existing safety standards, as well as continuously improved ones, to any hydrogen blending initiatives.”
Adding to the criticisms of hydrogen and renewable natural gas, Sane Energy Project, a Brooklyn environmental group, contested National Grid’s need to upgrade the Greenpoint Energy Center to tackle the increased energy demand. They proposed, instead, to shut down this facility entirely and give that space back to the community, which is on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority list of disadvantaged communities disproportionately impacted by climate change.
New York City government data shows that Greenpoint’s air quality is significantly worse than the city average, with industrial activities contributing to a high level of particulate matter.
Members of Sane Energy Project and local residents hold a banner against LNG during a walking tour of the Greenpoint Energy Center in Brooklyn. (Credit: Alice Finno)
This isn’t the first time that Sane Energy Project has taken on National Grid. The group has led two lawsuits against the company in the past and tried to stop National Grid from increasing New York customers’ utility bills. In that proceeding, started in 2023, energy expert and rate analyst Mark Kleinginna presented a study that argued the Greenpoint Energy Center is not operating at full capacity and the company’s projections of the energy needed to satisfy customers’ demand in the coldest days were higher than reality.
Sane Energy’s attempt to stop the rate hike was unsuccessful, and customers saw an increase of $30 per month starting in September 2023. But the persistence of the organization and Kleinginna’s study led the Public Service Commission to add deliberations about the Greenpoint Energy Center in the regulatory proceeding over National’s Grid long-term plan.
Kim Fraczek, Executive Director of Sane Energy Project, expressed safety concerns over the Greenpoint Energy Center’s proximity to residential buildings, given the potential for explosions, fires, or leaks. Since liquefied natural gas explodes in contact with water, the position of the facility in a floodplain also raises questions on the future of this infrastructure as the sea level rises.
Fraczek said that the site is only a block away from Cooper Park Houses, a public housing complex.
“Even though everybody’s affected by the same thing, people have different resources to fight it,” she said. “People have different political power because of their race, or their gender, or their income.”
After the organizations had submitted their initial comments, National Grid sent a reply comment, maintaining the need to continue operating the Greenpoint Energy Center. According to the company, the facility provides essential gas supply during the coldest days, guaranteeing customers constant reliability.
National Grid aims to file its final plan in January, after a revision in response to the comments received. At that point, it will be up to the Public Service Commission to decide whether to approve the plan or not. Until then, the parties involved will continue to provide National Grid feedback during technical conferences and meetings.
Fraczek said that the ultimate goal for Sane Energy Project would be to push the state to replace the gas system with thermal energy networks, which would provide heating, cooling, and hot water to buildings through a common network of pipes, reducing emissions.
“We’re using the [liquefied natural gas] facility at Greenpoint as sort of a figurehead or like a center point of our fight to talk about the larger issues,” she said.
About the author(s)
Alice Finno
Alice Finno is an Italian reporter based in New York City, covering climate and social justice issues. She is an M.S. candidate at Columbia Journalism School.