Modernizing Our Generation Fleet: Replacing Aging Generation Can Cut Emissions, Costs
In a time when reducing the grid’s carbon emissions is a priority, building and upgrading gas plants may seem counterintuitive. But in fact, it is a strategy that can support the ongoing build-out of renewables, including solar, wind, and battery storage.
Replacing aging gas plants with cleaner cutting-edge technology can reduce emissions, improve grid reliability, and lower overall system costs.
This is a true “all of the above” approach: cleaner gas working in tandem with aggressive renewable deployment to deliver a resilient, affordable, and greener future.
As outlined in the newly finalized New York State Energy Plan, the natural gas system remains a critical component of our generation mix through 2040.
The Plan maintains that “continued investment to maintain and modernize existing infrastructure, replace aging equipment, and purchase fuels to meet energy needs will be necessary.”
The Plan echoes findings of the NYISO’s latest Comprehensive Reliability Plan (CRP), which concludes that “several thousand megawatts of new dispatchable capacity will be needed by 2034 to maintain reliability as electrification accelerates and intermittent resources grow.”
Building a smarter, cleaner grid
New natural gas plants are more fuel-efficient, resulting in lower fuel costs, which is often the largest operating expense for thermal generation.
Today’s facilities are equipped with advanced digital controls, real-time monitoring, and predictive maintenance capabilities that enhance performance and reduce emissions. Additionally, modern plants require less maintenance and experience fewer unplanned outages, reducing operational and reliability costs.
These features make them ideal partners for renewable energy, helping to balance supply and demand as more variable resources, like wind and solar, come online.
Moreover, new gas plants can be designed with future adaptability in mind. In other parts of the country, some are being built battery or hydrogen-ready, meaning they can be converted to run on low or zero-carbon fuels as those technologies mature. This can help ensure today’s infrastructure evolves with tomorrow’s changing energy landscape.
In contrast, there are serious concerns about the state’s aging generation fleet, according to the CRP. Many existing thermal units are well beyond their expected useful life, yet they still provide critical dispatchable capacity that supports reliability during peak demand and extreme weather. As plants retire under environmental regulations and economic pressures, the system risks losing essential flexibility and reserve margins faster than new resources can replace them.
Reducing greenhouse emissions
Thermal efficiency in power generation is a measure of how effectively a plant converts fuel into usable electrical energy. Older natural gas plants, particularly simple-cycle combustion turbines built in the 1970s and 1980s, often operate at thermal efficiencies below 35%. In contrast, modern combined-cycle gas turbines can achieve efficiencies of 60% or more. This means that for every unit of electricity produced, a new plant emits significantly less carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
By replacing older, inefficient plants with high-efficiency alternatives, there is potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while bolstering reliability. In fact, modern gas plants are better suited to complement the connection of more intermittent renewable resources to the grid thanks to their faster ramp rates, voltage support and greater operational flexibility.
Cost savings through competitive markets
The NYISO’s competitive wholesale markets play a critical role in attracting investment in new resources while protecting consumers from unnecessary financial risk.
By using transparent price signals and market-based mechanisms, developers compete to build and operate generation, storage, and demand-side solutions. This competition drives innovation and ensures that only the most cost-effective projects move forward without requiring consumers to underwrite expensive, long-term utility contracts that can drive up retail consumer bills.
When a reliability shortfall is forecasted, the need is met through private capital and market discipline, reducing exposure to risky investments and lowering overall costs to the consumer.
Bridging the gap to a green, reliable future
Replacing aging generation with cleaner state-of-the-art technology can be a pragmatic, cost-effective approach to reducing emissions and modernizing the grid. Doing so can also deliver cleaner air, lower costs, while adding capacity for a more resilient, reliable energy system—all necessary to meet rising consumer demand and increased economic development.
As we navigate the path to a low-carbon future, smart investments in modern natural gas infrastructure may help bridge the gap to more renewable investments while making our grid more efficient.