NEWS
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Power Authority Starts Construction of Wall Around Sunset Park Facility; Breaks Ground at 23rd and 3rd Street Contact: July 13, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BROOKLYN--The New York Power Authority (NYPA), the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, broke ground Wednesday (July 12) for construction of a wall surrounding its small, clean power plant on the Sunset Park waterfront. “I want to thank the leadership of Community Board #7 for their thoughtful ideas and suggestions concerning our facility,” said Joseph Leary, NYPA’s director of public and governmental affairs for Southeast New York. “It was a very collaborative process that got us here and I am happy we are beginning construction.” “We believe this wall represents a new beginning at this site, just as our new high school and waterfront park represent a new beginning for the community,” said Joseph Longobardi, first vice chairperson of Community Board #7. “We wanted something that fits in with our improving infrastructure and I am pleased that NYPA has worked with us to achieve this.” The concrete-reinforced, brick-faced 12-foot-high wall, which will run along Third Avenue and 23rd Street, is being constructed for aesthetic reasons. “We want to be a good neighbor,” Leary said. “This is an example of how the Power Authority and the community can work together to achieve a desired result.” The power plant, which uses natural gas, is one of six small, clean in-city plants built by NYPA in a program five years ago to boost system reliability in response to concerns that New York could run short of electricity that summer. It is fitted with over $15 million in emissions controls, making it one of the cleanest power plants in the city. It generates power when called upon by the New York Independent System Operator, the organization that oversees the state’s wholesale electricity market. The Power Authority is a national leader in energy efficiency and conservation measures. It has replaced lighting; heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment; and motors and installed computer-based energy management systems in government buildings, public hospitals, police precincts, city Housing Authority facilities, schools and colleges. To date, NYPA has invested over $137 million in 291 Brooklyn facilities to curb energy use. This work results in annual savings of more than $11 million to taxpayers and also cuts oil use by more than 200,000 barrels and greenhouse-gas emissions by over 103,000 tons annually. About NYPA: ■ NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. ■ NYPA is a leader in promoting energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric transportation initiatives. ■ It is the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. |
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