NEW YORK: Power for Jobs Backs 782 New, 12,979 Existing Jobs— Ten businesses and not-for-profit institutions across the state will create 782 new jobs and retain 12,979 existing jobs with the help of low-cost electricity allocations approved by NYPA trustees on April 29 under Gov. George E. Pataki's Power for Jobs program. The trustees also approved reallocations of Power for Jobs electricity to 21 other employers whose contracts were expiring. The new recipients include Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, which will create 551 jobs; AccuMed Technologies, Buffalo, with 136 new jobs; Tartan Textile Services, Utica, with 30 new jobs; and the Rochester Institute of Technology, with 40 new jobs. The actions stemmed from legislation proposed by the governor and approved by the state Legislature last year making an additional 183,000 kilowatts (kw) of electricity available to existing and new Power for Jobs customers. About 45,000 kw remain to be allocated under the program, which is linked to some 300,000 jobs across the state. The State Economic Development Power Allocation Board evaluates applications for Power for Jobs and other NYPA-administered economic development programs on a competitive basis.

BROOKLYN: Waste-Gas Generator Set for Wastewater Plant— Power Authority trustees on April 29 approved spending up to $700,000 for construction of a small generating unit that will harness the gas byproduct from a wastewater treatment plant here to produce electricity while enhancing local air quality. The up-to-250-kilowatt microturbine will be installed at the New York City Owl's Head Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Bay Ridge section of the borough. Microturbines are small combustion turbine-generators that can be fueled by waste gas, natural gas, liquid fuels or other energy sources. "The new microturbine will allow us to significantly reduce the amount of waste gas that is currently being flared to the atmosphere by the plant," said Alfonso Lopez, deputy commissioner of the city Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the plant's operator. In 2001, NYPA installed two waste gas-burning microturbines at the Town of Lewiston's wastewater treatment facility. Waste gas will also be harnessed by eight fuel cells NYPA is placing in service later this year at other DEP wastewater treatment plants in New York City.

NEW YORK: NYPA Helps City Earn 'Clean City' Designation—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has included New York City in its Clean Cities Program due, in part, to clean transportation initiatives sponsored by the Power Authority. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman participated in the Earth Day event, in which David Garman, the DOE's assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, presented New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with a plaque marking the Clean City designation on April 22. NYPA President and CEO Eugene Zeltmann was on hand to describe how the Power Authority has worked with the city's Department of Transportation to place almost 300 electric and hybrid-electric vehicles on city streets, helping to reduce air pollution and lessen dependence on foreign oil. Zeltmann also cited NYPA's sponsorship of other clean-energy initiatives, including the Clean Commute electric-station-car program and a truck-stop electrification project at the Hunts Point Cooperative Market in the Bronx. NYPA also improves air quality by supplying electricity that runs city subways and commuter trains, thereby reducing car traffic and emissions.

LEWISTON: Power Vista Visitors Center Reopens to Public—The Power Vista, the admission-free visitors center at the Niagara Power Project, reopened to the public on April 26. The center, which offers exhibits on energy and area history and breathtaking views of the Niagara River Gorge, had been closed since March 20 because of heightened security in the wake of the war in Iraq. Besides resuming its regular 9 a.m.-to-5 p.m. daily schedule, the Power Vista has scheduled two popular holiday events: a Mother's Day memento giveaway on May 10 and a Father's Day baseball cap giveaway on June 14. The hours for these special events are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (more information is available at (716)-286-6661 or (866)-NYPA-FUN). More than 50 new interactive exhibits were added to the Power Vista during a $2.3 million renovation completed in 2001. The Niagara project's public fishing pier, which is separate from the visitors center, also reopened on April 26.

NEW YORK: Manhattanville Bus Depot Gets Energy Upgrades— New York City Transit's (NYCT) 3,600 buses are housed, washed and maintained at 18 depots throughout the city. The Manhattanville Bus Depot, one of the busiest, boasts a just-completed NYPA-installed network of energy-efficient lighting and LED (light-emitting diode) exit signs. A second phase of the Power Authority improvements, starting in May, will include NYPA's first applications of automated technologies, monitored and controlled via the Internet, to reduce the amount of power required for lighting and maximize the energy efficiency of air compressors and boiler-combustion-control systems. The work also calls for installation of occupancy sensors and premium efficiency motors. When completed later this year, the $1 million project, part of NYCT's long-term $24 billion capital program, will produce annual savings of close to $120,000. NYPA will recover its costs by sharing in the savings.

WHITE PLAINS: Conference Offers Energy-Independence Tips— The Power Authority was scheduled to provide property owners with practical ways to reduce energy demand—and costs—at their homes, offices and commercial properties at the May 3 Energy Independence: Real World Solutions for Homes and Businesses conference here. NYPA co-sponsored the event, hosted by the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, with major funding from Con Edison and the state's Energy Research and Development Authority, and was slated to present a case study on energy-efficiency measures implemented at its White Plains headquarters building, at 123 Main St. These measures, including new chillers, an energy management system, lighting retrofits and window film, will reduce the building's energy consumption by more than 50 percent, with annual savings of over $400,000 expected.

STATEN ISLAND: NYPA 'Lightens' Load for Youth Baseball—When the sun sets here this summer, local youths will be able to play baseball on illuminated fields, thanks to financial contributions made by the Power Authority. Borough President James Molinaro on April 8 accepted NYPA checks for $2,500 apiece to 10 leagues to help them pay their electric bills for night games. The leagues receiving the funds are the East Shore Little League, the Great Kills Little League, the Mid-Island Little League and Babe Ruth League, the South Shore Little League and Babe Ruth League, the New Springville Little League, the Staten Island Little League, and the West Shore Little League and Babe Ruth League.