The power station on Lake Erie, owned by NRG Energy Inc., has been mothballed since 2016.

Along the shivering shores of Dunkirk is a massive landmark and scar. At one time, the imposing facility contained four active generating units that produced approximately 635 megawatts of electricity that powered the northeast and a majority of the Western New York region.

Today, as it sits quiet, it is a major disturbance. Its owner, NRG Energy Inc., appears comfortable with that result. It pays a pittance to the county, school district and financially troubled city of Dunkirk to let the prime property sit in despair.

Does NRG have future plans for the 76-acre site situated between the city harbor, Cedar Beach and Point Gratiot Beach on Lake Erie?

Calls and emails in recent days to officials with NRG went unanswered. That was never the case with previous media representatives while the plant was running full throttle.

But investment seems unlikely since the company that had $2.3 billion in profits in 2023 is getting away with paying only $420,000 per year in a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency that has expired. That amount is a long way from the $10 million in payments it distributed to the three entities, including $4 million to city government up until 2015 when the plant was shuttered. Today, the city gets about $140,000 for that large property.

At the moment, county and city officials should be working to get the property back on the tax rolls. So far, there has been little to no indication that effort is taking place.

Built in the 1950s, it was a state-of-the-art engine that was operated by Niagara Mohawk, which is currently National Grid, was later sold to NRG in 1999. The coal-fired plant was both a boon and curse for the region.

Like so many manufacturers before 1970, Lake Erie’s health and the environment was not always a consideration. Waters then could be used as a depository for dangerous chemicals and waste that came from all sorts of factories, including those keeping the lights on.

That pollution led to the loss of aquatic life, putting drinking water at risk. Today, especially along deeper portions in the east, there’s a pristine appearance to the lake when it is not in a stormy state.

Though nature will always warrant strong consideration moving forward, the lack of action or dialogue regarding the former station is concerning. Entering its 10th year of being shut down, the site appears to be on its way to becoming a monument to old-time power generation that continues to go away.

Without that land returning to the tax rolls, there is an obvious lack of necessity by the current owner to make anything happen. In one aspect, there is a pattern in the region when it comes to NRG.

To the north in Tonawanda, the town is in a legal battle with the company to take the Huntley power plant property that has been dormant since 2016 through eminent domain. NRG, however, is appealing the most recent ruling that sided with the municipality.

“I don’t know what they’re doing,” Tonawanda Supervisor Paul Eminger said last spring in The Buffalo News. “They’ve got their reasons for doing it. They’re just prolonging the thing. I think they’re just collecting the money from the industries, while all this is going on, and they’re just trying to drag it out.”

In 2021, a 66-page study commissioned by Chautauqua County and the city of Dunkirk looked at possible uses for the nearby lakeside location. Seven options considered included: power plant repowering through natural gas; industrial development; data center; battery storage; off-shore wind; micro-grid development; and a clean slate, which includes demolition.

Any of these projects will come at a high cost and one other important item: support for selling the property from NRG. Watching what’s taking place in Tonawanda is reason enough to wonder if the company is serious on parting ways.

In recent months, Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel has been outspoken on the potential future uses. His most recent proposals during a meeting with officials from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative last fall in Dunkirk included options for the plant that include natural gas or converting it to a micro-nuclear facility.

“Micro-nuclear plants are less dangerous … and much more contained,” Jon Altenberg, president and chief executive officer of the initiative, said in October. “The advantages (of those types of plants) have increased.”

In the big picture, 10 years is a snapshot in time. But there are reasons for urgency with the property, especially when it comes to Dunkirk’s finances.

NRG’s decisions did not put the city in a $16 million hole. But at its current pace, the inactivity and lack of investment at the site does nothing to better the community either.

John D’Agostino is editor of The Post-Journal, OBSERVER and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-487-1111, ext. 253.