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| Week of Sept. 7, 2003 |
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NEW YORK: NYPA Fuel Cell Provides Haven From Blackout— Where was the
safest place in New York during the worst blackout in American history?
According to The Economist, the British newsweekly, it may have been the
middle of Central Park because of a fuel cell installed by the Power
Authority at the police station there. "With the rest of the city in
darkness, [the] super-clean 'micropower' [plant] carried on unaffected: New
York's finest had all the power and light they needed," The Economist said.
The fuel cell meets all of the station's electricity requirements, which had
outgrown the capacity of feeder lines. Its installation eliminated the need
for new wiring, which would have been costly and disruptive. The natural
gas-powered fuel cell produces virtually pollution-free electricity through
a chemical reaction, without combustion. ALBANY: NYPA Executive Named to Assist Blackout Panel—H. Kenneth Haase, NYPA's senior vice president for transmission, was one of three New York energy experts named to assist a U.S.-Canadian task force investigating the August blackout, Gov. George E. Pataki announced on Aug. 27. The task force, chaired by U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Herb Dhaliwal, will help determine what caused the blackout—the largest in North American history—and why it spread so quickly. Haase will join the task force's electric system working group. Also named were James McMahon, senior adviser for the New York State Office of Public Security, to the cyber-security working group; and Paul Eddy, power systems specialist for the New York State Department of Public Service, to the nuclear working group. Each group will report its findings to the task force and make recommendations to avoid future blackouts. BUFFALO: New Refrigerators Serve as Model for Public Housing— Early this summer, NYPA completed the installation of some 1,600 new energy-efficient refrigerators in Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA) apartments. Energy savings of more than $53,000 a year will help BMHA pay for the 12- and 15-cubic-foot refrigerators in less than nine years—and add impetus to the Power Authority's efforts to extend the refrigerator program to other housing authorities throughout the state. The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority joined NYPA in the Buffalo project. The BMHA program is in the spirit of Gov. George Pataki's Executive Order No. 111, issued in 2001 to establish energy-efficiency goals for state buildings. NYPA initiated the refrigerator replacement program in 1996 with the New York City Housing Authority, which is scheduled to receive more than 180,000 energy-saving refrigerators by the completion of the program this year. More than 100 housing authorities and utilities nationwide have developed programs based on the New York City initiative. LEWISTON: Festival Scores a Hit With Jazz Lovers, Businesses— The second annual Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival, Aug. 22-24, proved truly historic by two measures: Some 26,000 people–more than twice last year's crowd—browsed classic cars, antiques, and food and wine samplings on the closed-off main street here. And they stayed to shop, eat and mellow out to the tunes of 150 jazz stylists at venues throughout the community—leaving behind about $500,000 more than on an average weekend, according to the Greater Lewiston Business and Professional Association.That doubles last year's impact. NYPA funded the first festival, on the 40th anniversary of its nearby Niagara Power Project, in 2002. The Power Authority has since enlisted business neighbors, including WKBW-TV, Villa Maria College, Key Bank and the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, to share the funding and the fun—this year on a perfect August weekend. HERE AND THERE: Wild Weekend Planned at NYPA Festivals— The Power Authority will sponsor its annual admission-free wildlife festivals at three locations on Saturday, Sept. 27. The visitors center at NYPA's Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project in North Blenheim will feature musical entertainment, a blacksmith demonstration and animal exhibits, including reindeer, raptors and rescue dogs, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In Oneida County, at the Trenton Fish and Game Club in Holland Patent, festival-goers can enjoy chain-saw carvings, fly-fishing demonstrations and wildlife ranging from birds of prey to invertebrate animals, also from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. And at NYPA's Niagara Power Project in Lewiston, visitors to the Power Vista will be able to fish for trout in an artificial pond, learn about wildlife rehabilitation from an armadillo and participate in a turkey-calling contest (Saturday only), from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also at the Niagara festival, which will continue on Sunday, firearms safety kits will be distributed as part of Project ChildSafe, administered by the Niagara County Federation of Conservation Clubs, a co-sponsor of the event. For more information, visit www.nypa.gov . MASSENA: Upgrade Planned at Wildlife Management Area—A key element in the Power Authority's application for a new federal license for its St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project is a proposal to upgrade the Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area. The wildlife area, termed "one of the largest hydro-related environmental mitigation projects in North America" by Hydro Review magazine, consists of some 3,300 acres of wetlands and uplands at the project. It was developed to mitigate habitat losses when the project was built in the 1950s. Stretching some six miles along the St. Lawrence River, the wildlife area protects breeding and migratory waterfowl, owls, deer, foxes and other species. NYPA and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the area, plan to apply new standards of resource management, reflecting current thinking on habitat management. New and rehabilitated dikes, control structures, and water diversion and pumping facilities are at the core of the enhancement proposals. NYPA anticipates approval of its new operating license for the St. Lawrence-FDR project in October. NORTH BLENHEIM: Soccer Field Takes Shape at Mine Kill Park— Representatives of the Power Authority and the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation joined with members of the Army National Guard’s 204th Engineering Battalion on Aug. 18 to break ground for a new soccer field at Mine Kill State Park here. As part of the Army National Guard's GuardHELP community support program, established by Governor Pataki in 1998, soldiers from the Binghamton battalion are performing federally required training as they construct the new soccer field, scheduled to be completed in September. The work provides soldiers with an opportunity to train with bulldozers, graders, dump trucks and other heavy equipment. The Power Authority built the 500-acre park in the 1970s, during the development of its adjacent Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project. The park, which is managed by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, offers year-round recreational opportunities, with athletic fields, swimming pools, nature trails, picnic areas, boating facilities and areas for snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. In the Community: A Power Authority electric vehicle was on view in the Youngstown Volunteer Fire Company parade, Fort Niagara State Park, Sept. 1….The Power Authority donated the prize money for the St. Lawrence International Junior Carp Tournament, Lisbon, Aug. 22-23. Prizes were awarded for the heaviest catch, based on bags of four fish. All fish caught during the competition were released. |