NIAGARA FALLS: Publication, Meetings Kick Off Relicensing—The Power Authority's publication earlier this month of a comprehensive report on NYPA's Niagara Power Project and its impact on Western New York marked the official start of efforts to relicense the state's largest generating facility. The two-volume First-Stage Consultation Report, which was mailed to more than 100 stakeholders, is available for viewing at five local libraries and the Niagara project's visitors center in Lewiston. Also this month, stakeholders interested in actively participating in the Niagara project relicensing are scheduled to attend an initial organizational meeting to set up a framework for future sessions, which will begin in January and are expected to be held every other week through next April. This month's organizational meeting will be held at the Quality Inn Niagara Hotel and Conference Center, 7708 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Niagara Falls, 1 - 5 p.m. on Dec. 18 and 8 a.m. - noon on Dec. 19. To find out which libraries have the First-Stage Consultation Report on file or to learn more about the Niagara project relicensing, including public meeting schedules, visit: http://niagara.nypa.gov

WHITE PLAINS: Power Authority Seeks Wind Power Bids—
As part New York State’s efforts to foster development of renewable, indigenous power sources, the Power Authority is asking owners or prospective developers of wind-powered facilities in the state to submit bids to supply up to 50,000 kilowatts (kw) of electricity from such projects. Prospective applicants can e-mail Jordan Brandeis (jordan.brandeis@nypa.gov ), NYPA's director of supply planning and power contracts, for more information. NYPA will distribute its Request for Proposals on Dec. 18 to parties responding to its inquiry and hold a pre-bid conference in early January at its White Plains office. The bids, expected to be selected by early 2003, must make wind power available for 10 or 15 years, beginning Jan. 1, 2005. Criteria for selection include the cost of the power, a project's potential to create jobs during construction and operation and through the supply of economical electricity to businesses, the possibility of attracting new energy equipment manufacturers to the state and any potential environmental impact. Gov. George E. Pataki announced the state's plans to purchase wind power as part of a series of wind-power initiatives unveiled last summer.

Zeltmann: Mideast Crisis Raises Stakes for EV Development— With continued instability in the Middle East and the prospect of war in Iraq, the stakes have never been higher for the development of electric-drive (ED) vehicles, NYPA President and CEO Eugene Zeltmann told an international electric-transportation conference on Dec. 11. "Our goal must be to spread the word and to ensure that ED-based systems will, over time, become a significant mover of vehicles in this country," he said at the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas conference in Hollywood Beach, Fla. Zeltmann, the association's co-chairman, said that the U.S. transportation sector consumes twice the amount of oil that the nation produces domestically and that the gap is widening. He maintained that ED vehicles have “immense potential...to curb our oil consumption—and provide significant environmental benefits." Zeltmann called for accelerated development of pure battery-powered vehicles; conventional and plug-in, or grid-connected, hybrids; and fuel cell-powered EVs. Citing an Electric Power Research Institute assessment, Zeltmann said plug-in hybrids offer the greatest potential benefits today, but the most dramatic future impact could come from fuel cell-powered all-electrics—after cost, hydrogen storage and refueling infrastructure issues are resolved.

NIAGARA FALLS: Ice Boom Installation a Sure Sign of Winter— Power Authority work crews were scheduled to complete installation of the Lake Erie-Niagara River ice boom by mid-December. The 8,800-foot-long span across the east end of Lake Erie is designed to help establish a stable ice cover on the lake. Once a stable cover has developed , the ice boom helps sustain winter electricity production at NYPA's Niagara Power Project by minimizing ice jams and maximizing water flow in the upper Niagara River. NYPA crews began setting out the boom's 23 buoy barrels and 22 strings of floating steel pontoons in early December. International Joint Commission guidelines permit the installation when the lake temperature reaches 39 degrees Fahrenheit or Dec. 16, whichever occurs first. This year, the temperature fell to 39 degrees on Dec. 3, the third earliest date since the first installation of the boom, in 1964.
 

In the Community: In a long-running holiday tradition, staff members of the Niagara Power Project put together gift baskets worth about $70 each for 80 children in the Niagara Falls area. With the help of Brother Steve Kennedy of Niagara University and the St. Vincent DePaul Society, project employees shopped for, packed and will help deliver the gaily-wrapped boxes, containing clothing and toys. The employees also teamed with the state police to raise almost $800 for children's gift boxes and holiday food baskets for three families….Children created a decorative tree ornament and framed their holiday memories in a photo with Santa Claus at the Niagara project's visitors center, Lewiston, Dec. 14.…Joe Leary, senior intergovernmental relations specialist, spoke to the Baldwin Kiwanis Club on the Power Authority's initiatives on Long Island, Dec. 10….Almost 800 people attended a holiday celebration with Santa at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project's visitors center, North Blenheim, Dec. 7….The Power Authority donated a decorated Christmas tree for the Schoharie County Historical Society's Christmas in Schoharie, at the Old Stone Fort Museum, Schoharie, Dec. 7 - 15….Tour guides from the Blenheim-Gilboa project's visitors center presented electrical-safety programs for students at Public School 19, Albany, Dec. 4, and the Schoharie Central School, Nov. 21….An exhibit on NYPA's energy services was on display at a community workshop sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Northeast Regional Office and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Cities for Climate Protection, White Plains, Nov. 20.