What is CPV?

CPV is a 650 Megawatt fracked (natural gas) power plant built in 2018 in Orange County New York, 60 miles northwest of New York City.

According to climate scientists it increases the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 10% of the power sector, and will cost society over $900,000,000 in damages, annually. They say this is catastrophic for efforts to combat climate change.

CPV is owned by Competitive Power Ventures, whose company executive, Peter Braith Kelly, was just convicted of bribing a NYS aide close to Governor Cuomo, Joseph Percoco (also convicted). The bribery was meant to help the project get approvals and get the state to close Indian Point, in order to give CPV access to the NYS market, the second largest consumer of power in the world. Despite the convictions the bribery scheme was successful. CPV has now plugged NYC directly to the fracking fields in PA

CPV was built in Orange County in the middle of a protected agricultural district and historic site, over 80 acres of wetlands, next to an environmental justice community, on a Native American burial site, in endangered species habitat. It’s built on the edge of the world famous black dirt region, now contaminating the “official soil” of NYS.

The costs of construction for CPV is being paid by NYS ratepayers who have a surcharge added to their electric bills to pay for it. Now an additional charge will be added to all NY utility bills because of CPV’s bribery scheme.

CPV will depend on 100-150 fracking wells per a year. Fracking is the worst possible source of power for the planet because it leaks methane at every stage of the process from extraction to consumption and requires hundreds of miles of pipelines. Methane has 100 times the global warming impact as CO2 over a twenty year time-frame. Global methane levels increased 60% in the last decade and scientists say that half of that was likely caused by fracking in North America. Methane levels this year have reached an all time high of 1875 parts per billion, with 2019 seeing the largest increase since record keeping began.

We call CPV the head of the #BlackSnake because it drives all of the rest of the fracking infrastructure that is needed including compressor stations, pipelines, and storage facilities. You can order our #BlackSnake T-shirts here.

The Pipeline to serve CPV, the Valley Lateral Pipeline, cut through critical wetlands and farmlands, destroyed an essential roosting corridor for the endangered Indiana and Long Eared Bats, and disturbed an Eagle’s Nest; in violation of the Clean Water Act, The Endangered Species Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.