Keane & Beane, P.C. has been successful in its representation of a proposal to bring a 1,000 megawatt, natural gas fired power plant to the area. The project is a joint effort by Cricket Valley’s parent company, Advanced Power AG of Switzerland, and GE Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of General Electric Corp. The Town of Dover has granted a zoning amendment, special permit and site plan approval for the project. In addition, variances were obtained from the Town’s Zoning Board of Appeals to permit the project to go forward. The State Public Service Commission has granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, the last PSC approval the plant needs. The project is “consistent with the current State Energy Plan,” the PSC said in a statement, “and advances recommendations of Governor Cuomo’s Energy Highway Blueprint to accelerate investments in electric generation to strengthen system reliability while creating jobs and stimulating economic development.”
Cricket Valley estimates the project cost will exceed $985 Million ($985,000,000.00), will create over 300 construction jobs and 28 permanent jobs during operation. With approvals in place, construction is anticipated to commence in 2014.
Richard L. O’Rourke and Jennifer L. Gray were the attorneys who worked in connection with obtaining the zoning and planning approvals. The approvals culminated a thorough environmental review process in which the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) served as Lead Agency for purposes of review pursuant to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).
