BRONX: EPA Chief Launches Clean-Air Project at Hunts Point— U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christie Whitman was on hand at Hunts Point Cooperative Market on Aug. 6 to help launch the nation's first anti-idling truck electrification program, aimed at reducing pollution. The Power Authority will provide $75,000 toward the $320,000 project and oversee installation of truck/trailer electrification systems at 32 bays, allowing drivers to power their cabs and refrigerated trailers without running their engines. With Gov. George E. Pataki's support, "New York State is on the road to a unique remedy for air-quality concerns associated with idling engines at truck stops," said Robert Tscherne, a NYPA senior vice president. The project is expected to eliminate more than 2,000 tons of pollutants and save thousands of gallons of diesel fuel annually, while saving trucking companies about 40 percent compared with idling costs. Hunts Point, the world's largest wholesale food distribution center, is a NYPA electricity customer. The project is the first funded through Clean Air Communities, a non-profit entity designed to bring clean-air technologies to urban neighborhoods.

CENTRAL NEW YORK: Energy Upgrades Boost Area Economy— Almost 70 Power Authority energy-efficiency projects in 27 Central New York counties generate more than $5.4 million in annual savings for municipalities, school districts and other public facilities—and taxpayers—from Albany to Oswego and beyond. The projects range from high-efficiency lighting at the State Capitol building and Empire State Plaza to water-purification technologies for the Village of Canajoharie. NYPA provided energy-saving lighting and electric motors at the Madison County office complex in Wampsville and upgraded lighting and heating and cooling systems at State University of New York campuses in Cobleskill, Delhi, Morrisville, Oneonta, Oswego and Syracuse. With NYPA's help, SUNY Morrisville is developing on-site power generation utilizing microturbines and combined heat-and-power technologies. The Power Authority's energy-services program is a key component of Gov. George E. Pataki's efforts to encourage energy efficiency at state and local government buildings across the state.

WESTBURY: Low-Cost Power Protects 315 Jobs At L.I. Firm—An allocation of low-cost Power Authority electricity to the Nassau County Public Utility Agency (NCPUA) will help Uniflex, Inc., a plastics packaging company, maintain 315 jobs at its plant here, reducing its electricity bills by about $85,000 annually. The 600 kilowatt (kw) allocation, approved by NYPA trustees on July 24, comes from a 94,460-kw block reserved for downstate municipal distribution agencies (MDAs) for resale to industrial customers as part of Gov. George E. Pataki's efforts to create and protect jobs. Approval of Uniflex's application means that Nassau County's 5,000-kw share of the MDA power is fully allocated. It also raised the number of jobs in the county that is linked to the power to more than 1,800. Other Nassau County recipients under the program are Citibank, Plainview; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories; Oceanside Institutional Services; Ruco Polymer, Hicksville; Fortunoff, Uniondale; and Adminstrators for the Professions, Manhasset.

YONKERS: Fuel Cell Doubly Effective in Cutting Pollution—NYPA's pioneering fuel-cell power plant at the Yonkers Wastewater Treatment Plant in Westchester County reduces emissions of global-warming gases in two ways. The fuel cell, the world's first commercial unit fueled by anaerobic digester gas (ADG), a byproduct of wastewater treatment, lessens the amount of methane-rich ADG that is flared, or burned off, cutting emissions. The 200-kilowatt unit produces electricity for the wastewater treatment plant through a chemical process, without combustion, displacing generation that otherwise would be required from fossil-fueled power plants. Together, reduced flaring and lower demand for power from the grid avoid annual emissions of 910 tons of carbon dioxide, nearly four tons of sulfur dioxide and more than two tons of nitrous oxide. The fuel cell, which began operation in April 1997, produces about 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

NEW YORK: Ansonia Station Post Office Goes 'All-Electric' —The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has received delivery of the first two of 16 electric CitiVan two-ton delivery trucks ordered on the strength of a Power Authority demonstration project. The CitiVans, being prepared for service at Manhattan's Ansonia Station, will replace diesel trucks that travel short distances with extended idling. The electric vehicles are manufactured in New York State by Super Steel Schenectady; NYPA conducted the CitiVan demonstration with the city's Department of Transportation in 2000. Dubbed the USPS's "all-electric" station by postal authorities, Ansonia will also operate a NYPA electric minivan, and the Power Authority is planning a trial of a nine-ton hybrid-electric delivery truck at the station.

In the Community—A Power Authority electric car and exhibit were on display at the Lewiston Arts Festival Chalk Walk, Aug. 11-12….The Power Authority gave free passes to Minekill State Park to guests at its Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project's visitors center, North Blenheim, Aug. 11…The Power Authority's St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project sponsored and presented a NYPA exhibit at the North Country Folklife Festival, Massena, Aug. 11….The Power Authority played host to a Cooperative Consultation Process meeting at its St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, Aug. 10.…Cathy Blood, a NYPA senior community relations representative, made a presentation on The Power Authority: Benefiting Western New York to the Newfane Seniors Organization, at the Miller Fire Hose Company, Aug. 9.…A Power Authority exhibit was on display at the Cobleskill Sunshine Fair, Aug. 7….Carol Rodino, NYPA's community relations manager, Central New York, gave a talk on electrical safety to the Sycaway Senior Citizens group, Troy, Aug. 6….Some 237 cyclists pedaled for 12 miles through Robert Moses State Park in the 13th annual Bicycle Power Tour, sponsored by the St. Lawrence-FDR project, Aug. 4….More than 9,000 people attended a summer fireworks celebration at the St. Lawrence-FDR project, July 23.