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Week of July 18, 2004
About NYPA Notes

NYPA Notes provides periodic updates on the New York Power Authority's statewide activities to stimulate economic growth, promote energy conservation and develop new, environmentally friendly energy technologies.

It also reports on the Authority's efforts to facilitate solutions to New York's energy problems and on its potential benefits to the state as the electricity industry shifts from regulation to competition.

Please feel free to reprint any of the information in NYPA Notes. We hope you find the newsletter informative and useful and would welcome your comments and inquiries (nancy.ames@nypa.gov).

NYPA Calendar

July 27: NYPA trustees will meet at the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, Massena, 11 a.m.

July 31: The Power Authority will sponsor Red, White & Boom, a concert and fireworks display at Parkway Oval, Tuckahoe, 6 p.m.
 
ALBANY: NYPA Sets Pace for Renewable Energy Supplies— As the major supplier of renewable energy in New York State, the Power Authority is in the forefront of efforts to realize Gov. George Pataki's bold vision of a time when one-fourth of the electricity consumed in the Empire State will come from clean, renewable resources. The state Public Service Commission is working to establish a Renewable Portfolio Standard designed to increase New York's use of emissions-free renewable energy. More than 80 percent of the electricity generated by NYPA is renewable power, including enough hydropower to bring New York more than halfway to the governor's goal of 25 percent. In addition to its stewardship of hydroelectric resources, NYPA is investing in a range of other renewable energy initiatives. The Power Authority has taken steps to purchase 50 megawatts of wind power and has installed solar-electric panels at 19 sites. NYPA has put in service numerous fuel cells, including several powered by anaerobic digester gas at sewage treatment plants, and microturbines using waste gas as fuel. It is also pursuing landfill-gas projects that capture methane emissions to produce electricity. All of these measures help assure that more of New York's electricity comes from homegrown renewable resources.

BRONX: More NYPA Electric Delivery Vans Enter Postal Fleet— Eight new zero-emission electric delivery trucks have officially joined the U.S. Postal Service fleet here, thanks to the Power Authority. NYPA has also supplied funding for 22 other electric delivery trucks already in service at postal facilities elsewhere in New York City. The latest additions—two-ton electric CitiVans—are part of a $23 million voluntary initiative by the Authority to offset the emissions from small, clean power plants installed three years ago to address power shortages predicted for downstate New York. Two of the small plants overlook the Harlem River. The CitiVans will replace diesel-powered trucks used to transport mail and bulk packages between central distribution facilities and neighborhood post offices serving the Hunts Point and Mott Haven communities. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr., joined David Solomon, Postal Service vice president for area operations, and representatives from community organizations at a July 7 ceremony marking the presentation of the vehicles at the Hunts Point post office. NYPA, which has helped place nearly 60 electric or hybrid-electric vehicles in service in the Bronx, is a national leader in promoting and demonstrating electric-drive technologies.

WHITE PLAINS: Chillers Provide Savings and More for Library— Twin high-efficiency electric chillers installed by NYPA last year to cool water for air conditioning at the central library here have provided major savings and brought some unanticipated benefits as well. Replacing failing equipment more than three decades old, the new units promised higher reliability, lower operating and maintenance costs and increased energy efficiency. The library's staff has found that the chillers have resulted in a reduction of more than 40 percent on the facility's energy bills. In addition, the more-efficient units need only several hours to fully cool the three-story building, down from two full days in the past, and the old equipment's noise and vibrations have been virtually eliminated. The Power Authority has completed energy-efficiency projects at 2,200 public facilities across the state, saving taxpayers nearly $88 million a year. As at other locations, NYPA financed the library improvements and will recover its costs through the energy savings.

MASSENA: Work Moves Forward on New Visitors Center— Construction is progressing on the new visitors center at the Power Authority's St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project here. Work on the facility at Hawkins Point began in June, with completion expected in time for next year's tourist season. The new building will incorporate interactive exhibits on energy and the area's history, as well as a theater and a community room. The site, facing St. Lawrence-FDR's power dam across the St. Lawrence River's south channel, will also offer dramatic views of the project, NYPA's first generating facility. In additional work at Hawkins Point, NYPA is renovating a boat ramp and providing a handicapped-accessible fishing pier and a parking lot. Power Authority trustees in May awarded a $3.5 million contract to H. Schickel General Contracting of Malone to build the new visitors center. St. Lawrence-FDR's original visitors center, which opened in 1959, played host to more than 5 million guests before it was closed for security reasons following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

UTICA: NYPA Sponsors Boilermaker, Erie Canal Canoe Races— Outdoor sports enthusiasts know that July is the time to enjoy some healthy competition in two annual events supported by the Power Authority. On July 11, NYPA co-sponsored the 27th annual Boilermaker, a 15-kilometer foot race through Utica that attracts some 10,000 runners from around the world and pumps more than $1 million into the local economy. The event includes wheelchair (15k), walker (8k) and novice-runner (5k) contests as well. On July 17, the 17th annual Erie Canal Canoe Classic was scheduled to attract paddlers competing in either canoes or kayaks along five-, 13.6- or 20-mile routes beginning and ending at Lock 20 in Marcy. Proceeds from this year's Classic will benefit cancer-survivor programs run by the Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare Foundation and by the Erie Canal Rowing Club.

In the Community: The Power Authority demonstrated electric-drive vehicles and staffed information booths on the upcoming Lewiston Jazz Festival and Western New York wildlife festival, both sponsored by NYPA, at several local events: the Town of Wheatfield's community picnic, July 18; classic car shows in Niagara Falls, July 18, in North Tonawanda, July 11, and in Lockport, July 6; and the Concert in the Park, Niagara Falls, July 1. The Village of Lewiston will play host to the jazz festival, Aug. 27-29, and the wildlife festival will be held at the Niagara Power Project's visitors center, Lewiston, Sept. 25-26….Almost 20,000 people attended the NYPA-sponsored concert and fireworks at the Astoria Park Independence Day celebration, Queens, July 1.