NEWS
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The New York Power Authority Shows its Green Side at Expo Contact: September 20, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SYRACUSE—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) will exhibit several of its celebrated “green” initiatives at the Environmental Business Association of New York State’s 6th Annual Empire Energy & Environmental Exposition (E4) to be held at the Oncenter in Syracuse on September 25 and 26. NYPA’s exhibit focuses on three closely-related themes: “Toward A Sustainable Future,” “New Energy Solutions” and “Building Community Partnerships.” NYPA President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Timothy S. Carey, will participate in the panel discussion “Policy Forum: Building New Markets in New York State” which is part of the series of Programs & Speakers planned for E4. Carey is expected to speak on NYPA’s efforts to protect the environment and reduce the use of oil through energy efficiency projects, green building initiatives and electric/hybrid transportation. “Toward A Sustainable Future,” the centerpiece and major theme of NYPA’s display, will emphasize how renewable resources and new, clean energy technologies will help preserve the planet. As a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, NYPA’s President and CEO Carey, has directed NYPA to step up its use of environmentally-compatible materials, such as green cleaning products, nontoxic paints, recycled carpet and low-mercury light bulbs. A wide range of these sustainable products, which have both home and business applications, will be displayed by NYPA at the Expo. “New Energy Solutions,” the focus of another section of the NYPA display, will highlight the Power Authority’s involvement with fuel cells, including a 250-kilowatt unit at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse—the first college in New York to use this technology. Dedicated earlier this year, it is supplying up to 17 percent of the campus’s electricity, reducing emissions, and providing residual heat for hot water and heating on campus. Fuel cells use a chemical process, instead of combustion, to generate electricity. Also on display in this area will be examples and scale models of new energy technologies including a solar panel, a fuel cell and an emission control device—which NYPA has helped outfit on school buses. Other new energy solutions to be presented at the Expo include a hydropower for hydrogen initiative that NYPA and the Electric Power Research Institute of Palo Alto, CA, are studying for the possibility of fueling hydrogen-powered vehicles at the Niagara Falls State Park. Also, NYPA has begun installation of an innovative battery energy storage system at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Long Island Bus subsidiary in Garden City to help reduce energy and maintenance costs associated with the use of some 220 compressed natural gas buses. Information on these projects and much more will be available at the Expo. “Building Community Partnerships,” the third facet of the NYPA exhibit, will feature information on the many energy efficiency projects NYPA has implemented working with communities across New York. In Buffalo, for example, NYPA helped remove seven coal-burning furnaces in public schools and replaced them with cleaner fueled boilers and also installed and financed over 1,600 new energy efficient refrigerators in public housing units. This year, NYPA will pass the billion dollar mark for its total investment in completed energy-efficiency projects at public schools, aquariums, museums, performance halls, housing projects, hospitals, airports, bus terminals, state university campuses and executive office buildings in every county of the state. The projects help eliminate over 750,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year while displacing close to two million barrels of imported oil. They also save enough electricity each year to meet the energy needs of nearly 1 million New Yorkers. The Environmental Business Association of New York State shares NYPA’s mission to promote energy efficiency and alternative energy projects and its Expo will feature over 50 exhibits related to this mission. The event is expected to draw an estimated 400 environmentally-concerned professionals, business leaders, policymakers, and governmental leaders from all regions of New York State. NYPA’s exhibit will adjoin displays of The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the New York State Public Service Commission under the theme “Powerful Partners Working for New York.” 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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