NYPA To Lead Nation With Clean School Bus Program; Part of $23 Million Program to Offset Emissions From Clean Natural Gas Turbines Installed in New York City
Contact Connie Cullen 914 390-8196 Connie.Cullen@nypa.gov
December 4, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHITE PLAINS—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) today announced the details of a $23 million program designed to offset emissions of air pollutants in four New York City boroughs, including a groundbreaking $6 million program to install pollution control systems on 1,000 city school buses.
The PowerNow! Emission Offset program fulfills the Power Authority’s pledge, through a series of clean air initiatives, to offset the air emissions generated by the Power Authority’s ten small natural gas-fired turbines at sites in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. The program will be financed, administered and implemented by the Power Authority with assistance from the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
"School buses carry our most precious resource, our children, and today we announce the nation’s largest program to reduce school bus emissions ensuring that another resource, our air, will be cleaner and purer for our youngest citizens, and all of us," said Joseph J. Seymour, chairman and chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority.
"To meet growing energy demands in environmentally-sound ways, the Power Authority’s turbine project, which proved itself by helping keep the lights on during last August’s record-breaking heat wave, will now also contribute to even cleaner air," Seymour added.
In addition to the installation of pollution control systems on 1,000 school buses, that will operate in the boroughs where the turbines were installed, the program also includes installation of eight non-polluting fuel cells at New York City wastewater treatment plants, plus a variety of other energy-efficiency and emission reduction programs.
Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Erin M. Crotty, said, "DEC has been working cooperatively with NYPA and other state agencies to improve and protect New York’s air quality, and to ensure that New Yorkers have clean and reliable sources of energy. NYPA’s voluntary commitment to offset emissions in those communities where their new turbines are operating successfully demonstrates that we can achieve both goals simultaneously."
"NYSERDA is pleased to be part of the PowerNow! Emission Offset program," said NYSERDA Chairman Vincent A. DeIorio. "This program is once again demonstrating that sound energy policy and sound environmental policy are one and the same."
The school buses that participate in the program will be equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) — a particulate trap. A DPF is a device containing a regenerative catalyst and a filter that is installed on a vehicle in place of the muffler. Vehicles with DPFs, engine adjustments and fueled with ultra-low sulfur diesel reduce emission levels of particulates, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and total hydrocarbons. These emission controls are above and beyond any legal requirements and New York is the first state in the nation to use this unique, state-of-the-art environmental technology for a large fleet of school buses. An added benefit of the technology is quieter operation of the buses.
The pilot program for equipping up to 1,000 school buses with particulate traps is scheduled to begin this winter in the Bronx where four of the new turbines are located. This $6 million program will then roll-out, after the period of testing and evaluation, over the next year in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island which are the boroughs where turbines are located.
The Power Authority, in cooperation with NYSERDA, has identified four wastewater treatment plants, in the vicinity of turbine sites, as preferable locations for fuel cell installation. The fuel cells will produce power for and reduce emissions from the wastewater treatment plants operated by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) at a total cost of $ 12.9 million. The proposed sites, subject to approval by DEP, are:
Bronx: three fuel cells in Hunts Point at Coster Street and Ryawa Ave, Bronx , NY 10474.
Brooklyn: two fuel cells in Red Hook, at 63 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205.
Queens: two fuel cells in Bowery Bay, at 43-01 Berrian Boulevard, Astoria NY 11105.
Staten Island: one fuel cell in Oakwood Beach at 751 Mill Road, Staten Island, NY 10306.
Fuel cells are highly efficient, non-polluting, power-generating devices. They produce electricity by causing a chemical reaction between oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen is derived from the air. The hydrogen can be derived from any hydrocarbon fuel, including anaerobic digester gas (ADG), the by-product of wastewater treatment. The electric and thermal energy produced by fuel cells is consumed on site.
"We are extremely pleased to play an important role in the New York Power Authority’s continuing mission to introduce emissions-free fuel cell power in New York City region," said William T. Miller, president of UTC Fuel Cells, formerly International Fuel Cells. "Our applications with NYPA at the police station in Central Park and elsewhere in the New York City region have demonstrated the capabilities of these units to meet customers’ needs.
As part of this program to offset emissions, several other energy-efficiency projects are also being initiated.
Bronx
Fund conversion of 8 postal trucks serving the South Bronx to electric vehicles.
Loan of 2-ton electric delivery truck to a Bronx community group, the Point Community Development Corporation/Sustainable South Bronx, for use by local Hunts Point businesses.
Brooklyn
Supply an electric school bus (seats 66) to serve 2 schools managed by the United Talmudical Academy in Williamsburg.
Develop a plan, with New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), to reduce emissions by changing the paint process at Tri-boro Shelving & Partition Corp., 296 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211.
Staten Island
Fund conversion of 8 postal trucks serving Staten Island to electric vehicles.
Convert the boiler at P.S. 13 to natural gas-fired and install high efficiency lighting.
P.S. 13, a 53,000 sq. ft. K-6 elementary school, is located about 1/2 mile from the new turbine site on Staten Island. It is currently being expanded making it an ideal time to accomplish the boiler conversion and high efficiency lighting installation. A brand new boiler using natural gas will replace the existing 20 year-old boiler that uses No. 4 oil. The new boiler is projected to significantly reduce emissions of nitrous and sulfur oxides and particulates by a total of 2.5 tons per year. In addition, this program will balance the air-conditioning system in rooms that serve as computer labs by improving the chilled air and chilled water distribution in the school. The estimated cost of the boiler conversion is $2.5 million. The high efficiency lighting system is expected to cost almost $70,000, yet will save taxpayers almost $17,000 per year and reduce the use of energy in the building by about 50 kw.
The eight new fuel cells are expected to reduce emissions by 164 tons per year. The pollution controls installed on 1,000 school buses are expected to reduce emissions by 57 tons per year, most notably including an over 95% reduction in emissions of particulate matter.
The electric vehicles, boiler conversion and additional energy efficiency projects bring the collective emissions reduction from the PowerNow! Emission Offset program to a total of 227 tons per year. Expected operations of the turbines will be far below those levels of emissions.
The ten new turbines were installed at six sites around New York City as part of the Power Authority’s over $500 million PowerNow! program. The natural gas-fired turbines were intended to avert a serious power supply crisis in New York City. The state Public Service Commission had advised the Power Authority of an urgent need for additional supply this summer and recommended installation of additional capacity. The turbines are the cleanest generators in New York City using the best environmental control technology available. In addition, the Power Authority installed in each turbine, over $5 million in pollution controls. The turbines were built by General Electric and rated as the most fuel-efficient, simple-cycle natural gas turbines in the world.
As part of PowerNow!, an eleventh turbine was installed in Brentwood on Long Island. Earlier the New York Power Authority launched a major effort to offset those emissions, and to conserve energy and reduce annual energy costs to local taxpayers, through energy efficiency projects in the Brentwood School District. Districts with energy use similar to Brentwood’s can achieve energy-efficiency savings on lighting of 20-30 percent, when combined with other technologies this may result in annual cash savings of several hundred thousand dollars.
