Groundbreaking Marks Start of Construction of New, Clean Power Plant in Queens

Contact
Michael Saltzman
914-390-8181
michael.saltzman@nypa.gov

Mr. Ciminelli's remarks

November 6, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ASTORIA—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) took a major step forward Wednesday toward addressing New York City’s future electricity requirements and air-quality concerns, as it officially broke ground for a new generating plant that will lead to the shutdown of the existing Charles Poletti Power Project.

“This is a truly significant occasion for the City of New York and the Borough of Queens,” said Louis P. Ciminelli, NYPA chairman. “Today we break ground for a new 500-megawatt power plant that will mark the largest addition of generating capacity in the city since the Poletti project itself began operation more than 25 years ago. This new power plant will be one of the cleanest and most efficient in the city’s history.”

Ciminelli noted the landmark agreement announced by Governor George E. Pataki in September that was pivotal for the construction of the new plant, which is scheduled to begin operating by the summer of 2005. The agreement, among the Power Authority, environmentalists and Queens officials, led the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment to issue a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need for the plant last month.

Various provisions of the agreement are incorporated in the license certificate, including the shutdown of the Poletti project as early as 2008 and investment by NYPA of an additional $50 million over five years in energy-efficiency and clean-energy projects in Queens and other parts of New York City.

“The construction of this new generating facility by the Power Authority signals a future in which Queens residents can feel more secure that their children will grow up in a healthy environment with cleaner air,” said Helen Marshall, Queen Borough president. “It means that the Power Authority will be able to permanently shutter the existing Poletti project and cut greenhouse-gas and other airborne emissions in the borough by thousands of tons a year, while continuing to produce essential amounts of power for reliable electricity service.”

“The new power plant for which we’re breaking ground today is part of a responsible approach to energy and the environment, demonstrating that goals for these two distinct areas can be compatible,” said State Senator George Onorato of Queens. “It all depends on the available technology and the determination of different interests to work together.”

“Governor Pataki and all those participating in the discussions leading up to the agreement for the new plant are to be congratulated for what they’ve accomplished,” said Jerry Connolly, business manager/secretary-treasurer, Local 5, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. “Now it’s up to those of us in the various craft unions to turn the vision for the new plant into a reality.”

As many as 650 workers, representing nearly 15 local labor unions, are expected to be employed at the peak of the plant’s construction. They’ll be required to use extremely low sulfur fuel and particulate-control technologies in their off-road construction equipment and vehicles to limit emissions and protect air quality.

The $650-million plant will burn natural gas, with low-sulfur oil as a backup, and use a sophisticated combined-cycle technology that is cleaner and more efficient than other power plants. It will also be equipped with the most advanced emission controls, allowing it to meet federal air-quality standards by a wide margin.

“The combined-cycle technology allows us to maximize energy that would ordinarily be dissipated by other power plants,” said Eugene W. Zeltmann, NYPA president and chief executive officer. “After generating electricity from two turbine-generators, the heat by-product from the new plant’s combustion process will be harnessed by a third turbine generator to produce additional electricity. That’s why this power plant will be so much more efficient, generating about 50 percent more electricity from its fuel, as it minimizes any potential emissions.”

Zeltmann also noted that the plant will use an air-cooled condenser, avoiding the need for water from the East River, assuring the new facility has no impact on aquatic life and water quality.

The plant will provide electricity for, among others, large government customers in New York City and Westchester County, who currently receive their power from the existing oil-and natural gas-fueled Poletti project and other supply arrangements by the Power Authority. Those customers include New York City government, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority, the City University of New York and various other public organizations whose essential services range from subway and commuter trains to schools and hospitals to street lights.

“These customers—and the taxpayers—now save about $250 million a year through use of Power Authority electricity,” said Chairman Ciminelli.  They also save more than $46 million a year from energy-efficiency measures that NYPA has installed at schools and government buildings in Southeastern New York.

The agreement that led to the state siting board’s certification of the new power plant contained various other requirements that were included in the plant’s license. Among them, for the Power Authority to increase its use of cleaner-burning natural gas, instead of oil, at the existing Poletti project, to reduce the facility’s emissions; and to limit Poletti’s electric generation for the period after the combined-cycle plant is brought into service and the older plant is shut down.

The New York Power Authority is the nation’s largest state-owned public utility. It provides about one-quarter of New York State’s electricity.