NEWS
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NYPA President Carey Seeks to Expand Energy Partnership with City Contact: October 31, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW YORK—New York Power Authority (NYPA) President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy S. Carey said Tuesday that the Power Authority is poised to expand its current extensive efforts to promote energy efficiency and clean new energy technologies in New York City. “My goal is nothing less than to make the New York Power Authority the cleanest and greenest electric utility in the United States,” Carey said in testimony at a hearing conducted by the City Council’s Committees on Environmental Protection and Consumer Affairs. “And the success and continuing growth of our partnership with the city are essential to achieving that goal.” Carey noted at the City Hall hearing that the Power Authority has completed energy efficiency projects at nearly 1,200 government buildings, schools, hospitals and other public facilities throughout the city, at a total cost of close to $565 million. These projects, he said, save taxpayers nearly $58 million a year. They also lower peak demand for electricity by 95 megawatts, reduce annual oil use by more than 1.1 million barrels and cut yearly greenhouse-gas emissions by close to 480,000 tons. He said NYPA, under the leadership of Gov. George E. Pataki, has brought some $130 million worth of energy efficiency projects to various stages of development in the city, including $27 million in projects that are ready to go into construction pending approval of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. In addition, he said, the Power Authority plans to begin a major study next year of the further potential for energy efficiency at facilities operated by the city and other NYPA government customers such as the City Housing Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He said NYPA has offered to conduct energy audits and to follow up with energy efficiency measures at every city-owned facility, beginning with the largest energy users. “Our energy efficiency projects are complemented by our very successful summertime peak-load management program, in which we pay our government and business customers in the city $40 for each kilowatt of load they agree to cut upon request,” Carey said. He testified that the program this year included 92 locations in the five boroughs and that hourly peak demand on the summer’s highest use day, Aug. 2, was cut by an average of 84 megawatts, nearly twice the total customer commitment. Carey said the Power Authority began supplying economical electricity to the New York City government more than 30 years ago and that savings to the city typically amount to at least $250 million a year. “Our focus 30 years ago was strictly on the supply of lower-cost electricity,” he testified. “Now it goes well beyond that.” Carey said NYPA has installed 12 fuel cells, totaling 2.4 megawatts of capacity, at various public facilities in New York City, including the historic Central Park police station and four city wastewater treatment plants in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island. He added that the Authority has completed seven solar projects in the city, including a 300-kilowatt installation at the Gun Hill Bus Depot in the Bronx that is one of the largest such facilities in the nation. “We also intend to provide nearly five megawatts of fuel cell capacity at the new World Trade Center complex in what will be one of the world’s largest fuel cell installations,” Carey said. Carey commended the Council for enacting “bold and comprehensive” legislation to promote the development of “green buildings” in the city. The legislation, which takes effect Jan. 1, will require that most non-residential new construction and major alterations financed by the city achieve certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED program—for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—as well as substantial energy cost savings. As president and chief executive officer of the Battery Park City Authority, Carey directed construction of the nation’s first green residential high-rise building, the Solaire, which attained the coveted LEED gold certification in 2004. He was named to the USGBC board earlier this year. “The Power Authority is engaged in a major project to earn LEED certification for its headquarters building in White Plains,” Carey said. “We hope to share the experience we gain in this endeavor with our customers, including, of course, the City of New York.” NYPA President and CEO Timothy Carey's testimony 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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