MEDIA ADVISORY
ALBANY, NY – Feb 6th, 11:00 AM
CONTACT: Merton Simpson, 518-253-3536, robcor295@cs.com
Advocates for Renewable Energy and Environmental Justice Detail Flaws with Albany’s Proposed Fracked-Gas Microgrid and Demand Action from Cuomo
WHO: Merton D. Simpson, Albany County Legislator for District 2 and the Sheridan Hollow Alliance for Renewable Energy (SHARE)
WHAT: Press Conference to expose misinformation on proposed fossil fuel microgrid for the Empire State Plaza and urge action on alternatives
WHEN: Tuesday, February 6, 2018 11:00 AM
WHERE: New York State Capitol, 2nd Floor “War Room”
On Tuesday, February 6th, Albany County Legislator Merton D. Simpson and the Sheridan Hollow Alliance for Renewable Energy (SHARE) will present information to Governor Cuomo detailing serious mistakes and misrepresentations made by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) in its promotion of a fracked gas power plant in downtown Albany to serve the Empire State Plaza. The project is proposed in Sheridan Hollow, a low-income community of color that has long suffered from combustion emissions to heat and cool the State Capitol and other government buildings. Recognizing the outstanding potential for renewables–especially geothermal energy–the group will demand a comprehensive feasibility analysis of alternative methods to heat, cool, and power the Plaza, and call for a new Request for Proposals (RFP). Speakers will address:
- Distorted claims of efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction
- Expansion of fossil fuels under the guise of resiliency
- Perpetuation of environmental injustice lasting over a century
A Better Way: How geothermal heating and cooling could eliminate emissions and provide real relief to Sheridan Hollow—and what Governor Cuomo can do to make it happen.
“It is inconsistent for Governor Cuomo on one hand to support divestment of state pension funds from fossil fuels, while on the other call for the investment of $88 million in a project that burns more fracked gas in an environmental justice neighborhood of New York’s state capital. The Governor should abandon this misguided project and instead invest in clean, renewable energy.”
–Judith Enck, former Regional Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency