Tonawanda, New York, United States: The Closure of the Huntley Generating Station and Community-led Efforts for a Prosperous Future

This case study describes the community-led response in Tonawanda, New York, to the closure of the NRG Energy-owned Huntley Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant. It details the formation of the Huntley Alliance, a coalition that lobbied for state funding to mitigate tax revenue losses and developed a long-term economic vision called "Tonawanda Tomorrow" to diversify the local economy and redevelop waterfront property.

• The closure of the Huntley Generating Station, which had a total generating capacity of over 800 MW across six units, led to significant local economic decline. Between 2008 and 2012, the plant's workforce was reduced by 60% and three public schools in the town closed. The final decommissioning in March 2016 resulted in a $6.2 million decrease in tax revenue for the Town of Tonawanda, Erie County, and the Kenmore Tonawanda School District, while leaving 93 acres of waterfront property idle.
• In 2013, the Huntley Alliance was formed as a diverse coalition including labor groups (such as the United Steelworkers and IBEW), environmental organizations (the Sierra Club and Clean Air Coalition of Western New York), and the Kenmore-Tonawanda Teachers Association. The coalition's primary goals were to protect workers, save the school system, and stabilize the local economy through a just transition plan.
• The Huntley Alliance successfully lobbied the New York Legislature to establish the Electric Generation Facility Cessation Mitigation Fund, the first program of its kind in the United States. Enacted in the 2016–17 state budget, the program initially set aside $30 million, with a total balance of $56 million as of October 2020. It provides compensation to local governments and school districts if a plant closure causes a 20% or greater reduction in property tax collections or payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTs), offering 80% reimbursement in the first year and decreasing by 10% annually over seven years until July 1, 2025.
• To plan for long-term economic recovery, the Town of Tonawanda used a U.S. Economic Development Administration POWER Initiative grant to commission a study by the Delta Institute and the University at Buffalo Research Institute. This process involved over 300 residents and 728 survey responses, resulting in the 2017 "Tonawanda Tomorrow: Growing the Town’s Economic Future" plan. The plan emphasizes clean energy investment, sustainable manufacturing, and the redevelopment of the waterfront district to attract tourists and residents.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). Tonawanda, New York, United States: The Closure of the Huntley Generating Station and Community-led Efforts for a Prosperous Future. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/tonawanda-new-york-united-states-closure-huntley-generating-station-and-community-led

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Tonawanda, New York, United States: The Closure of the Huntley Generating Station and Community-led Efforts for a Prosperous Future. 2021. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/tonawanda-new-york-united-states-closure-huntley-generating-station-and-community-led.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Tonawanda, New York, United States: The Closure of the Huntley Generating Station and Community-led Efforts for a Prosperous Future |date=1 April 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/snapshots/tonawanda-new-york-united-states-closure-huntley-generating-station-and-community-led |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021tonawanda, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Tonawanda, New York, United States: The Closure of the Huntley Generating Station and Community-led Efforts for a Prosperous Future}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.wri.org/snapshots/tonawanda-new-york-united-states-closure-huntley-generating-station-and-community-led}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }