SILVER SPRINGS — There are no plans to close the village’s Indeck cogeneration facility.
But an upcoming meeting will help residents and business owners determine a reuse and recovery plan in the event the location was to ever shut down.
The session is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Silver Springs Fire Hall on 43 North Main St. The project is the first in a statewide initiative to develop such planning in the event of closures.
“NYSERDA has allocated money for communities to do community revitalization strategies … for any area where there is a fossil fuel-generated power plant,” said Lead Consultant Derik Kane of the LaBella Associates engineering firm. “There’s no push for the facility to be closed, nor is the plant itself talking about closing down.”
The purpose is to develop a vision in the event market forces change and the plant’s no longer profitable — New York State continues to pursue green energy — and how the community would respond, he said.
That will include completing a study of the village’s infrastructure, along with examining workforce development and similar factors which would be needed.
The Village of Silver Springs received a $150,000 state grant to complete the study.
“We like to talk about it as being like flood insurance,” Kane said. “If in the worst case scenario something were to happen, here’s what you can do and how the community can respond.”
The Indeck plant was constructed in 1991. It uses natural gas to generate electricity as needed, while providing steam to the village’s nearby Morton Salt plant.
Indeck is rated at 57 megawatts. The facility uses natural gas as its primary fuel source, with fuel oil as a secondary source.
Although New York State plans to move away from fossil fuel power in ensuing decades, Mayor Raymond King said he doesn’t believe Indeck would be affected. “It’s an industrial facility,” he said. “Morton Salt would not be affected as a food production facility.”
The meeting will be available online for those who can’t attend.
Those interested can watch virtually via Zoom at https//usO2web.zooom.us/j/8954492027 or by calling 1 (929) 205-6099.
Read More: Contingency planning: Meeting will discuss Indeck plant in Silver Springs | Top