State PSC delays vote on incinerators

The state Public Service Commission delayed a vote Thursday on whether incinerators that generate power by burning trash should be eligible for state renewable energy subsidies.

Members said they needed more information on how other states and countries treat the technology before voting on Covanta Energy's request.

At issue is whether plants such as the four Covanta operates on Long Island should be included in the state's renewable portfolio standard alongside solar and wind projects, as well as plants that make power from landfill gas or wood chips.

Thursday's delay gave some cheer to Covanta officials, who have cast the technology as a power source that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from putting trash in landfills.

But the postponement angered environmental and clean-energy groups that say waste-to-energy plants are far dirtier than wind or solar power.

No new date has been set for a decision. The commission meets again Dec. 15.

Despite staff recommendations to reject Covanta's petition, commission members wanted to know more before deciding, said spokesman Jim Denn.

"Some states do allow this kind of burning," Denn said. "How do they deal with the emissions? Because that's clearly one of the sticking points."

At least 15 states include the technology in their renewable portfolio standard, according to a report by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a nonprofit advocacy group that opposes such plants.

"We're pleased that they're looking at the way neighboring states and Europe are treating this," said Michael Van Brunt, Covanta's director of sustainability.

Covanta's eight New York plants produce about 540 kilowatts of electricity per ton of garbage burned -- enough to power the average home for 17.5 days, company officials said.

Groups opposed to the petition worry trash-burning plants will usurp state money intended to promote low-emissions sources of renewable power.

"Investing New York's precious dollars meant for clean energy to burn trash would be a major step backward in the state's ongoing attempts to reduce air and climate pollution and invest in a clean energy future," they said in a statement.

The money comes from a surcharge paid by customers of Con Edison and other investor-owned utilities. Long Island Power Authority customers pay a separate fee to fund local initiatives.