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| Week of Feb. 29, 2004 |
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BROOKLYN: City, NYPA Announce Clean-Air Initiatives New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Christopher Ward and Power Authority President Eugene Zeltmann on Feb. 26 announced an innovative pollution-abatement program that uses NYPA fuel cells at wastewater treatment plants in the city to convert waste gas into energy to help power the facilities. The announcement was made at a wastewater treatment plant in Brooklyn, where NYPA has installed two 200-kilowatt fuel cells that are providing a significant portion of the facility's electricity needs. The two fuel cells are among eight that NYPA partnered with DEP to install at four wastewater facilitites in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island. The fuel cells run on anaerobic digester gas, a byproduct of the wastewater treatment process, to produce electricity and thermal energy through a chemical reaction, without combustion. The process is expected to eliminate about 170 tons of regulated emissions (nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide) and 9,000 tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, each year. NEW YORK: New Refrigerators Help Cut Public-Housing Costs The Power Authority is installing the last of some 180,000 new energy-efficient refrigerators at public housing sites in New York City, concluding an effort that began eight years ago. Replacing the old, energy-draining refrigerators with more-efficient models enables the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to save almost $8 million a year in its electricity costs. The program also helps the city shave its peak energy demand by more than 12,000 kilowatts and results in an annual 72,000-ton reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions from fossil-fueled power plants. The new refrigerators use from less than one-half to about one-third of the electricity needed by the original appliances and offer the additional benefit of using a more environmentally friendly refrigerant gas. NYPA will recoup its $62 million investment through NYCHA's electric bill savings over a 10-year period, after which the housing authority will obtain all of the savings. Building on the success of the New York City program, the Power Authority teamed up with the state's Division of Housing and its Energy Research and Development Authority in 2003 to install 1,300 energy-efficient refrigerators in public housing in Buffalo. BUFFALO: Low-Cost Niagara Power to Help Create 100 Jobs Gov. George Pataki announced on Feb. 24 new allocations of low-cost NYPA hydropower to three Buffalo manufacturers that are planning to invest $13.8 million in major expansions that will lead to the creation of 100 jobs. Power Authority trustees approved the allocations, totaling 3,300 kilowatts (kw) of electricity from the Niagara Power Project, to Outokumpu American Brass, Plesh Industries and Sotek Inc./Belix Industries. The action followed allocations of Niagara power in January to nine other Western New York companies, which are expected to create 245 jobs. The Western New York Advisory Group, comprising NYPA, Empire State Development, the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and Niagara Mohawk, had recommended approval of the latest allocations. The group is working to maximize the economic development benefits of the Niagara project, which helps to support nearly 44,000 jobs at more than 100 companies in Niagara, Erie and Chautauqua counties with its economical electricity. ALBANY: Zeltmann Lauds Power Partnership With Canada NYPA President Eugene Zeltmann told a U.S.-Canadian audience on Feb. 24 that the thriving electricity partnership between the two countries underscores the value of extensive cross-border business relationships. "Our electricity trade, like that in many other areas, has been mutually beneficial," Zeltmann said at a Canada in Albany program arranged by the Canadian consulates general in New York City and Buffalo. "It's vital that we continue to build on this strong foundation." He noted that among the states, New York is by far the largest importer of Canadian power, and that while flows to Canada are considerably smaller, they are still significant. During his years as an executive at the General Electric Co., Zeltmann served as an adviser on trade issues to the U.S. Department of Commerce and to U.S. trade representatives. NORTH BLENHEIM: Travelogues Bring Exotic Lands Home For the best travel deals in town, swing by the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project's visitors center in March and book your reservations for Egypt, Russia, Denmark or Canada. NYPA's admission-free Sunday travelogue series consists of videos and presentations that will transport attendees to far-away lands for the amazingly low price of whatever it costs to get to the center's theater. The itinerary includes a presentation on Russia in the Winter, by Peg and Bob Farrell, on March 7. On March 14, Egypt will be the destination of choice, presented by Don Griffith. Historic Canada and Acadia will be Bill Massoth's focus on March 21, and the series will conclude with a March 28 presentation on Biking in the Canadian Rockies and Denmark by Karen Brueck. The presentations begin at 2:30 p.m., and refreshments will be served after each trip. For reservations and information, call (800) 724-0309. WHITE PLAINS: Students Try NYPA Careers On for Size White Plains High School students got a taste of the wide range of careers possibilities at the Power Authority on Feb. 26 by listening to presentations by members of NYPA's Speakers Bureau about the ins and outs of their jobs as economists, engineers and public affairs specialists, among others. The career workshop was organized by the City of White Plains Youth Bureau as part of its Adolescent Vocational Exploration program, in which students are encouraged to visit local businesses and industries to learn about possible careers. In addition to talking to employees, the students were given a tour of NYPA's 123 Main St. offices and a demonstration of one of the Power Authority's electric vehicles. In the Community: Dale Henry, a security guard at the Niagara Power Project, received the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center's Good Neighbor Award for his years of community volunteer service, Feb. 20. Henry was NYPA's 2003 Volunteer of the Year .Edgar Kim Byham, principal attorney, spoke to the Harrison Rotary Club on changes in the electric utility industry, Feb. 18 .Richard Mueller, senior engineer at the Clark Energy Center, Marcy, gave a presentation on electrical safety at the Utica Children's Museum, Feb. 18 .Rick Chase, executive director, hydro relicensing, spoke to the Niagara County Legislature on NYPA's efforts to obtain a new federal license for the Niagara project, Lewiston, Feb. 17 .The Power Authority gave Basics of Electricity presentations to the ABC Nursery Preschool, Ransomville, Feb. 23; the Flanders Elementary School, Malone, Feb. 12; and St. Augustine Elementary School, Peru, Feb 11. |