Photo Courtesy of Sen. Gillibrand’s Office
“Communities from Sunset Park to the South Bronx bear the brunt of harmful emissions because of peaker plants in their backyards,” Sen. Gillibrand said.
By Forum Staff
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) on Sunday joined Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn), Nydia Velazquez (D-Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan) and Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) at the Sims Recycling Plant in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, to announce the introduction of their new legislation, the Promoting Energy Alternatives is Key to Emission Reductions Act of 2021, also known as the PEAKER Act of 2021.
The PEAKER Act of 2021 would:
- Direct the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council, and Council on Environmental Quality, to perform a nation-wide assessment that identifies the location of each dirty peaker plant in the U.S. and determines the quantity and type of pollution each plant is producing. The assessment will also evaluate the demographic details around the location of each peaker plant to specifically determine whether the peaker plant is located within or adjacent to a disadvantaged community.
- Establish a new 10 percent additional Investment Tax Credit for battery storage and renewable electricity to displace electricity generated by dirty peaker plants in disadvantaged communities.
- Establish a new grant program at the Department of Energy, funded at $1 billion annually over the next 10 fiscal years, for clean energy projects that will help to reduce or eliminate the need of existing dirty peaker plants. Importantly, these projects must be implemented within, or have a direct benefit to disadvantaged communities that have been impacted by pollution from an existing dirty peaker plant. Funding will go to projects that aim to either assess clean energy strategies to reduce the need for dirty peaker plants or to projects that deploy clean energy technologies such as renewable energy resources, battery storage, energy efficiency measures, and demand-side management strategies. Entities who may apply for grant funding include: state or local governments, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations and electric co-ops, or a partnership between any of the aforementioned entities and an electric utility or a private business. Communities who wish to first undergo a clean energy assessment and then implement clean energy strategies based on the assessment’s findings will be able to apply for two rounds of grant funding.
“Communities from Sunset Park to the South Bronx bear the brunt of harmful emissions because of peaker plants in their backyards,” Gillibrand said. “To help these communities, and to help our country build a stronger, healthier and more sustainable future, we must shift our energy reliance away from fossil fuels to renewables. Our bill, the PEAKER Act, would help quickly replace aging and dirty peaker plants with clean energy and battery storage. Together, we will keep working to bring an end to the use of these fossil fuel plants, to usher in the next generation of green energy technology, and help these communities breathe cleaner air.”
“Marginalized communities have always been on the front lines of environmental battles,” Velazquez added. “People of color, working families, and women are disproportionately affected by environmental problems. I’m proud to join my House and Senate colleagues in introducing the PEAKER Act, which will address this environmental injustice by facilitating clean energy conversions and battery storage to help replace these aging and dirty peaker plants.”
