ALBANY - Dozens of state Senate and Assembly members are calling for renewable energy to be used at the Sheridan Avenue energy plant in Albany.

Since the New York Power Authority and the state Office of General Services announced plans to update the Sheridan Hollow facility to include natural gas-fired turbines and a microgrid to heat and cool the Empire State Plaza, local officials and activists have been demanding the project rely on renewable energy.

State representatives agree, and over 40 of them have signed letters to urge the authority and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to pursue an alternative to fossil fuels.

“Residents from the surrounding community have endured air pollutants from this plant for decades. About 25 years ago, Gov. Cuomo directed the shutdown of part of the facility that burned garbage,” the letter signed by 13 senators reads. “It is time we finish the job and end the health threat the plant poses.”

State officials have said the installation of two 8-megawatt, clean-burning, natural gas-fired turbine generators is expected to save more than $2.7 million annually in energy costs and remove more than 25,600 tons of greenhouse gases each year. The state says it would be able to provide more than 90 percent of the Empire State Plaza's energy needs, and the microgrid would offer a chance for surrounding government-owned buildings to tap in during major power outages.

Sheridan Hollow residents have been outspoken about the latest project, fearing the days when a trash burning plant filled the skies with soot and caused hacking coughs and left grime covering portions of the city beyond the neighborhood in the shadows of Empire State Plaza. The incinerator, which produced energy for the Capitol complex, operated on Sheridan Avenue for more than a decade before it was shut down.

Advocacy against the project has been led by members of the Sheridan Hollow Alliance for Renewable Energy (SHARE). Advocates have pointed to this project as an example of environmental racism as the residents in the neighborhood are primarily people of color.

"The Sheridan Avenue energy plant is located just a block from the Capitol. Residents from the surrounding community have endured air pollutants from this plant for decades,” said Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Albany, in a news release. “I believe the Sheridan Hollow residents—and all New Yorkers—are owed an energy system powering the Capitol that is a shining example of 100% renewable energy.”

The Power Authority in February announced it would do additional studies into the potential of using renewable energy, however, SHARE members have sought for a new request-for-proposal be issued for the project that stipulates it focus on renewables.

Authority spokesman Paul DeMichele said they're holding technical review sessions with energy experts to gather more information on the possibility of using renewable energy in the project.

"These meetings will inform next steps, which will include meetings with community members and other stakeholders," he said in an emailed statement.