St. Lawrence-
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Power Project

The Power Authority's history began with hydropower, and our first generating facility is the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project, located on New York's border with Canada. We began producing hydroelectricity here in 1958, the result of a cooperative effort between the U.S. and Canada. Adjacent to our project is Ontario Power Generation's Robert H. Saunders Generating Station, which shares with us a power dam that stretches across the St. Lawrence River the length of 10 football fields.

The Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Power Dam has 32 turbine-generators, divided equally by the international border and operated independently by each utility. The Power Authority's 16 generating units can produce more than 900,000 kilowatts of electricity, more than enough to light a city the size of Washington, D.C., which has a population of 607,000!

In 1998, the Power Authority began a $281-million Life Extension and Modernization program at its St. Lawrence-FDR project. Besides replacing all 16 turbines, workers are rebuilding or renovating the rest of the power dam’s generating equipment, with a scheduled completion date of 2013.

Here's how it works:
The St. Lawrence River carries the outflow of all five of the Great Lakes, the world's largest source of fresh water, to the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, river water pours into the power dam's intakes and falls about 80 feet into the spiral-shaped scroll case encircling each turbine. As this rushing water turns a turbine, an attached rotor spins inside a stator, a ring of tightly bound copper wires in a generator, creating an electric current.

Hydroelectricity is safe, clean, reliable and inexpensive. The economic benefits of St. Lawrence-FDR are far-reaching. More than half of the project's output supplies local industries that employ several thousand of New York's North Country residents.

Our entire power project stretches over the St. Lawrence River Valley for 37 miles, within the Towns of Waddington, Louisville and Massena. Besides the main power plant, it includes two control structures upstream: the Iroquois and Long Sault dams. And we've built thousands of acres of parkland along the river for recreational enjoyment and wildlife preservation. In 2005, we opened a new power project visitors center at nearby Hawkins Point, where interactive exhibits and panoramic views show how St. Lawrence-FDR converts rushing water into clean, reliable hydroelectricity.

The 50-year federal license that allowed the Power Authority to build and operate the St. Lawrence-FDR project expired in 2003. A relicensing process, aimed at securing federal and state approvals to continue project operation, was completed, and a new license was issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on October 23, 2003.

News:

June 26, 2009 - NYPA’s Friday Matinees in July Feature Contemporary and Classic Hits

June 25, 2009 - New York Power Authority Hosts Craft Days for Kids

May 26, 2009 - NYPA's Friday Matinee's Feature Contemporary and Classic Hits

May 21 - North Country Winners of Student Environmental Competition Sponsored by New York Power Authority Announced

May 6, 2009 - Fishing Piers Closed at Island View and Whittaker Parks

May 6, 2009 - Town of Louisville and New York Power Authority to Install Docks at Massena Country Club in Early June

June 24, 2008 -  N.Y. Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation Mark 50 Years of Power Production at St. Lawrence Project


Learn more about the St. Lawrence River Research and Education Fund

Highlights:

Learn more about the International Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Study and public meetings that have been held in the North Country this summer and fall.

Read River News, our community newsletter covering NYPA activities in the region near our plant.