PRINCETON, N.J., April 13 (UPI) -- New Jersey company NRG Energy announced Tuesday it won a 10-year contract in New York to generate power using renewable biomass fuel at its Dunkirk station.
NRG Energy said the New York State Energy Research and Development authority awarded it the contract for biomass fuel use at its Dunkirk power station in western New York.
NRG notes that biomass is a carbon-neutral fuel source. "NRG plans to locally source sustainably harvested biomass including forest and wood processing residues," the company said in a statement.
Drew Murphy, the president of NRG's northeast region, said the contract would go a long way toward state efforts to produce 30 percent of its energy needs by 2015.
"This project will also create up to 50 processing and transportation jobs in western New York and produce enough electricity to power 12,000 households," he added.
The project enters into service at the end of 2011. Total output at the station will reach 15 megawatts.
