| NYPA
Home Page |
| Week of July 4, 2004 |
|
|
MARCY: Pioneering Transmission Device Boosts Grid Flexibility— Gov.
George Pataki on June 29 announced the completion here of an advanced
transmission-control device that will improve the reliability and capacity
of electric transmission and provide a major boost to the state's power
grid. The $54 million convertible static compensator (CSC), installed by the
Power Authority at its Frederick R. Clark Energy Center in Marcy, near
Utica, is the first device in the world capable of instantaneously shifting
power in the same substation from a heavily loaded transmission line to one
with spare capacity. To mark the CSC's completion, Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue led
a June 29 celebration at Marcy attended by area elected officials along with
NYPA officials and representatives of labor and of other industry
organizations that supported the project. The event also honored former NYPA
Chairman C.D. "Rapp" Rappleyea, who, as head of the Authority from July 1995
to January 2001, was instrumental in launching the CSC project. Under
Rappleyea's leadership, NYPA also embarked on the governor’s landmark Power
for Jobs program, dramatically restructured with the sale of its nuclear
power projects, reduced its debt and significantly increased its investment
in energy efficiency and clean energy technologies. Completion of the CSC's
first phase in 2001 provided voltage support for increasing power flow on
the statewide power grid by up to 114,000 kilowatts (kw), with the second
and final phase boosting the total to nearly 200,000 kw. NEW YORK: Federal Agencies, Engineers Honor Fuel Cells— NYPA fuel cells adapted to harness waste gas at four New York City sewage treatment plants to generate electricity were among the technical advances recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy at an industry conference here on June 24. NYPA received a Certificate of Recognition for the eight 200-kilowatt units, located at facilities in the Bronx and Brooklyn and on Staten Island, at a Combined Heat and Power Conference conducted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Qualifying projects had to demonstrate emerging technologies or fuel diversity or otherwise advance new markets for environmentally beneficial ways of generating electricity. The fuel cells were also recognized as the Environmental Project of the Year by the New York Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers at its June 24 awards dinner in New York City. Collectively, the fuel cells eliminate about 170 tons of regulated emissions and more than 9,000 tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide annually. WESTERN NEW YORK: NYPA Hydropower Linked to 600 Jobs— Power Authority trustees on June 29 approved contract extensions for the sale of low-cost Niagara Power Project electricity to two Western New York manufacturers that have renewed their commitments to the region through multimillion-dollar expansions. The 3M Company in Tonawanda and Carleton Technologies, Inc. in Orchard Park will continue to receive allocations of 1,000 kilowatts (kw) and 700 kw, respectively. Together, they employ more than 540 people, with Carleton, a leading manufacturer of pneumatic and electromechanical components for the aerospace and defense industries, expected to add 60 jobs to its existing work force of 140. 3M's facility, the largest producer of cellulose sponges in the nation, is undergoing a $32 million expansion. MASSENA: Hydroelectric Project Modernization Moves Ahead— The fourth of 16 turbine-generators to be overhauled as part of a $281 million Life Extension and Modernization (LEM) effort at the Power Authority's St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project has returned to service ahead of schedule. NYPA workers, assisted by contractors, spent less than eight months repairing and replacing parts of the power-producing unit, returning it to service on June 25, more than three weeks ahead of schedule. Work on the next turbine-generator is slated to begin on July 8. The multiyear LEM schedule calls for three units to be overhauled every two years, with work on all 16 turbine-generators to be completed by 2013. The 800,000-kilowatt St. Lawrence-FDR project is the Authority's first generating facility and has produced some of the nation's least-expensive electricity since it began operating in 1958. BALDWINSVILLE: Tree Power Program Helps Color State Green— New York State will be 1,096 trees greener next year, thanks to the Power Authority's buy-one-get-one-free Tree Power program. Orders placed by 13 municipal electric systems, served by NYPA electricity, will be processed by the New York State Nursery/Landscaping Association here and sent out in time for the fall planting season. Customers get to choose between nine different types of trees. The Power Authority began Tree Power in 1991 for its municipal and rural-cooperative system cutomers and later extended the program to its downstate governmental customers. Since its inception, the program has resulted in the planting of close to 35,000 trees, almost one and a half times as many as are located in Central Park. Studies have shown that in addition to improving aesthetics, strategically planted trees can conserve energy. MARCY: NYPA Files Report on Vegetation-Control Safeguards— As part of the follow-up to last August's blackout, the Power Authority has submitted a report to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on NYPA's procedures for controlling plant growth that could disrupt the operation of its 1,400 circuit-miles of high-voltage transmission lines across the state. A FERC order required all utilities to provide details of their vegetation-management policies by June 17. The blackout, which affected more than 50 million people in the United States and Canada, was triggered by the failure of transmission lines in Ohio that had come into contact with overgrown trees. NYPA removes tall-growing plants, including maple, ash, oak, birch pine and spruce trees, on a four-year cycle. Frequent inspections identify for removal trees showing unusual growth in or near NYPA's 26,000 acres of rights-of-way. In the Community: A Power Authority visitors center exhibit was on view at the New York State Thruway's Clarence plaza as part of the Thruway's I Love NY festival, June 25-27….Steve Ramsey, senior community relations representative, presented an Automated External Defibrillator, used to provide emergency care to heart attack victims, to the Schoharie County Sheriff's Association at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project's visitors center, North Blenheim, June 13….The fishing pier at the Niagara Power Project reopened to the public following a three-week repair job, Lewiston, June 9....In addition to selecting Dale Henry, a Niagara Power Project security guard, as its 2004 Volunteer of the Year for his work at the Tuscarora Indian Nation in Lewiston, the Power Authority is honoring five other finalists in its program recognizing employees' community contributions. Verne Clarke, a White Plains office senior construction engineer who lives in Dix Hills, was cited for building a flood-control sea wall and other municipal improvement projects in Buford County, S.C. Connie M. Cullen, a White Plains senior information specialist and Eastchester resident, developed the first parents' advisory group for the Eastchester After School Youth (EASY) program. Shirley Hamilton, a Niagara project journeyman operator who lives in Niagara Falls, was honored for her work with the Niagara County Workforce Investment Act Youth Council and with local students on voter registration. Dave Hoke, a Clark Energy Center economist, spearheaded efforts to raise money for and build a town park, an ice skating rink and road improvements in Prospect, where he lives. John Stirling, a Niagara project maintenance resource management planner and Lewiston resident, organized several fundraising drives to help buy winter clothing for needy children. |