BUFFALO: NYPA Allocation Supports New Jobs, Investment— Power Authority trustees have approved an allocation of low-cost hydropower from NYPA’s Niagara Power Project to a Buffalo firm that is planning a $1.8 million expansion and the addition of 12 new jobs. As part of its allocation agreement, Graphic Controls, LLC, will add a new printing press to its round-the-clock operations. The Buffalo company will receive 330 kilowatts of hydropower in line with a recommendation from the Western New York Advisory Group, consisting of NYPA, Niagara Mohawk, Empire State Development and the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise. In late 2003, members of the advisory group signed a memorandum of understanding that streamlined the hydropower allocation process for economic-development purposes. Since then, allocations to 30 Western New York firms have helped create almost 2,400 new jobs and protect some 7,200 existing positions.

QUEENS: Four Clean Air Projects Receive NYPA Funding— A Big Belly solar-powered trash compactor unveiled on Earth Day, April 22, at Queens Borough Hall is among four innovative projects made possible here by NYPA funding for the Queens Clean Air Project (QCAP). QCAP, launched in 2003 with initial funding of $2 million from NYPA, announced awards totaling $1.4 million for the four projects, which will help reduce air pollution in Queens through energy efficiency and new technologies. Big Belly uses photovoltaic cells and batteries for efficient trash compacting, resulting in fewer pickups by diesel-powered trucks. About 50 units will be distributed in Queens neighborhoods. The other projects involve zero-emission electric vehicles to replace 15 diesel- and gasoline-powered tugs and baggage-handling vehicles at Delta Airlines’ gates at LaGuardia Airport; advanced emission controls to be retrofitted onto 60 New York City refuse trucks to reduce pollutants from diesel exhaust; and expansion of Silvercup Studios’ green-roof system, a thin layer of vegetation that helps insulate the structure, conserve energy and reduce air pollution.

MASSENA: Final Phase of Recreational Improvements to Begin— Seven more North Country parks have been scheduled for work to begin this year on recreational improvements funded by the Power Authority as part of the federal relicensing of its St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project. Power Authority trustees in April authorized a $1.9 million contract to Perras Excavating of Massena for enhancements at recreational facilities in Massena, Waddington and Louisville. Work is planned for completion by the end of 2007 at the Massena Intake Boat Launch; Richards Landing Dike Trail, also in Massena; and Island View Park in Waddington. Improvements are also planned at four parks in Louisville: Whalen Park, Massena Country Club, and Car-Top Launch and Sandy Beach, both on Coles Creek. The first phase of the recreational improvements related to the relicensing—at Massena Town Beach, Waddington Town Beach and Whittaker Park in Waddington—is scheduled for completion by this June. NYPA-funded improvements are also under way at the Robert Moses and Coles Creek state parks.

SELDEN: Energy-Saving Project Reduces College’s Costs— The New York Power Authority has completed a $4 million energy-efficiency project at Suffolk County Community College’s three campuses, saving the college $320,000 a year in energy costs and eliminating 2,200 tons of greenhouse gases annually. The centerpiece of the NYPA improvements is a computerized energy management control system for the campuses, at Selden, Brentwood and Riverhead. The system links all elements of the college’s heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment, providing real-time information on its operation and permitting activation times to be preset for greater efficiency. The Long Island Power Authority provided $157,000 in Clean Energy Initiatives rebates for the project under its Commercial Construction Program. The improvements were the latest of 50 energy-efficiency projects completed by NYPA at State University of New York campuses across the state, producing savings of nearly $11 million annually.

GILBOA: Power Project’s Reservoirs Reopen to Boaters— The upper and lower reservoirs at the Power Authority’s Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project have been reopened to recreational boaters for the summer. Permits, good until Sept. 30, can be obtained by calling 1-800-724-0309 or by visiting the Power Authority’s website, www.nypa.gov. The upper reservoir, located on Kingsley Road here, is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to rowboats and canoes. Gasoline-powered engines are also permitted on the lower reservoir, which can be reached through Mine Kill State Park on Route 30 and is open from 7:30 a.m. until dusk. Fishing is allowed from boats and the shores of both reservoirs.

In the Community: The Power Authority co-sponsored the Richard W. Catlin Art/Science/Technology Fair, Tonawanda Middle School, April 28….Students from high schools around the state tested their environmental knowledge during NYPA-co-sponsored envirothons, daylong, hands-on competitions, in April and May. Competitions were held in the Northern Adirondack region at Paul Smith’s College, Paul Smiths, and in Niagara and Orleans counties at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Niagara County in Lockport, both on May 4; in the Albany area at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project’s visitors center, Gilboa, April 28; in Oneida County at Verona State Park on Oneida Lake, April 27; and on Long Island at St. John's University in Oakdale, April 20.…Members of the Power Authority’s Speakers Bureau made presentations on various NYPA-related topics to the Middletown Kiwanis, April 27; AARP Chapter 4163, Ozone Park, April 26; and the Hebrew Institute of White Plains, April 21….The Power Authority participated in Earth Day activities in New York City and Lewiston, April 22 and 23. NYPA showcased hybrid-electric cars at the Bronx Community College Center for Sustainable Energy’s Bronx Clean Car Fair on April 22 and at the Bronx's Van Cortlandt Park and the Staten Island Zoo on April 23. Also on the 23rd, the Niagara Power Project’s visitors center in Lewiston played host to an Earth Day festival, with demonstrations and lectures for adults and crafts and face painting for children.