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| Week of Dec. 5, 2004 |
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ALBANY: Zeltmann Cites NYPA Energy Savings at SchoolsPower Authority
energy-efficiency projects completed at more than 1,100 public schools
throughout the state are saving more than $30 million in annual energy
costs, NYPA President Eugene Zeltmann told the Energy in Schools Conference
here on Nov. 18. By permitting power plants to operate less frequently, the
completed projects have also cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than
182,000 tons annually, said Zeltmann, who added that new projects are under
way at 77 school buildings statewide. NYPA typically finances and directs
all aspects of projects, ranging from lighting upgrades and boiler and
window replacements to installation of automated energy management systems
and premium-efficiency motors. Zeltmann noted that NYPA has also replaced
polluting coal-burning furnaces with clean oil- or natural gas-fueled
boilers at 86 schools and installed solar photovoltaic projects at six other
schools, with more solar projects planned. The Energy in Schools Conference,
sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority,
spotlighted a variety of energy-efficient and renewable-energy technologies. TRI-LAKES REGION: Energy Plan to Resolve Supply Problems The Power Authority will play a significant role in an energy plan announced by Gov. George Pataki on Nov. 24 to solve long-standing electricity supply problems in the Tri-Lakes Region of the Adirondacks. A comprehensive agreement among NYPA, the villages of Lake Placid and Tupper Lake, and Niagara Mohawk calls for a new transmission line expected to be in service by 2008, with state-of-the-art equipment to improve transmission efficiency. Under the agreement, NYPA will also contribute $2 million for energy-efficient technology in a new $30 million convention center proposed by Governor Pataki in Lake Placid, provide a $1 million grant to Tupper Lake to study the feasibility of a biomass generating facility in the Tupper Lake Industrial Park and conduct energy audits to identify energy-saving projects in both villages. In addition, the Power Authority will install three megawatts of on-site generation at Tupper Lake's substation to help meet peak consumer demand during the next two winters. NYPA provides the electricity used in the municipal systems in the two villages, and Niagara Mohawk supplies transmission services to the villages and its own customers in the area. The region's power problems are due to growing demand for power, transmission limitations and severe winter weather. WESTCHESTER COUNTY: New Traffic Signals Get Green Light Peekskill, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon are among the first cities in Westchester County to adopt brighter, more energy-efficient traffic lights under a Power Authority program that can reduce energy used by the traffic signals by about 90 percent, saving nearly $172,000 a year. Existing incandescent bulbs and lenses in the signals will be replaced by Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs), which direct 90 percent of their light toward motorists, require less maintenance and have operating lives of five years or more. Several hundred traffic lights and pedestrian signals will be replaced in each city. The estimated total project cost for the three cities is $775,285, and the Power Authority will be reimbursed through the energy savings. Work is expected to begin in late December. Parts of White Plains and Yonkers already have LED signals. NYPA, which previously completed LED projects in New York City, is prepared to undertake additional projects elsewhere in the state. GRAND ISLAND: Hydropower Helps Drug Company Add JobsA 700-kilowatt (kw) allocation of low-cost hydropower from NYPA's Niagara Power Project will help an international pharmaceutical company add 30 more jobs to its Western New York work force of 109. Power Authority trustees approved the allocation for Illinois-based Fujisawa Healthcare's Grand Island manufacturing facility on Nov. 23. The firm, a subsidiary of Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., of Japan, plans the hirings as part of a $9 million expansion here that will include a new quality-control laboratory. The Grand Island plant currently produces a skin ointment for eczema; the expansion will enable it to produce two medications for psoriasis. Fujisawa's allocation will come from a block of hydropower known as Replacement Power. The 445,000-kw block, along with a second, smaller amount of Niagara Expansion Power, is reserved for Niagara Frontier businesses. Together, the two blocks of power, totaling 695,000 kw, provide some of the lowest-cost electricity in the nation and are linked to more than 43,000 jobs in Western New York. MASSENA: Wildlife Habitat Plan Wins Federal Approval The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved NYPA's implementation plan for 10 Habitat Improvement Projects (HIPs) proposed as part of the relicensing of the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project. With the Nov. 18 approval, NYPA can proceed with plans to design, construct, monitor, operate and maintain various projects to enhance wildlife habitats on the project's grounds. A Technical Advisory Council, consisting of state and federal resource agency representatives and local stakeholders, is assisting NYPA with the HIPs, valued at $8.4 million. One of the first projects to be implemented in the coming months will be the installation of osprey nesting poles. Other HIPs planned for 2005 and beyond will benefit lake sturgeon, walleye, common loons and Blandings turtles. FERC issued a 50-year license for NYPA to continue operating its St. Lawrence-FDR project in October 2003. The commission is overseeing compliance and implementation of various aspects of the new license, which guarantees continued supplies of low-cost electricity, along with a range of benefits for North Country communities. ALBANY: NYPA Lends Luster to Capital's Holiday Light Show Albany's Washington Park is again alive with the holiday spirit, as the facility stages its Eighth Annual Holiday Light Show, which will run through Jan. 1. The light show, co-sponsored by the Power Authority, features more than 100 holiday displays that visitors can view from the comfort of their cars as they drive through a mile-long course. Admission is $10 per car. Organized by the Police Athletic League and the City of Albany, the light show is open evenings after 6 p.m. Hot chocolate is provided at the Lake House. The event has attracted more than 800,000 visitors since it began in 1997. In the Community: The Power Authority was scheduled to give Basics of Electricity presentations at the Children's Holiday Festival at Niagara Falls High School, Dec. 4 .NYPA was set to donate a decorated Christmas tree for the Schoharie County Historical Society's Christmas in Schoharie, at the Old Stone Fort Museum, Dec. 3 .Yan Kishinevsky, program manager, Research and Technology Development, spoke on the economics of implementing new energy technologies at Dowling College's Senior Class Symposium, Long Island Environmental Eco-Summit, Oakdale, Nov. 23 .Sobeida Cruz, director of public and governmental affairs, lower Hudson Valley, presented an overview of NYPA's programs and projects to the AARP's City Island Minneford Chapter, Bronx, Nov. 18. |