SYRACUSE: Advanced Fuel Cell Powers SUNY Campus Facility— A high-efficiency fuel cell, the first of its kind in New York State, has been installed at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF). The 250-kilowatt “molten carbonate” fuel cell will generate electricity and heat for the school. By eliminating combustion, it will decrease harmful air emissions significantly, and students and faculty will be able to study the benefits of the new technology. Using carbonate salts and operating at higher temperatures than more common fuel cells, the unit can achieve higher efficiencies, using 50 percent less fuel per kilowatt-hour of electricity, and significantly lower operating costs. The fuel cell will save 3,500 barrels of oil annually. The Power Authority helped finance, procure and install the unit in partnership with the college and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The Electric Power Research Institute and the U.S. Defense Department also provided funding. SUNY ESF has been designated as the SUNY Sustainable and Renewable Energy Center, a statewide clearinghouse for research by SUNY chemists, structural biologists and forest products experts in developing renewable energy sources.

WHITE PLAINS: Power Authority Names New General Counsel— Thomas Kelly, a Brewster attorney and former president of the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC), has been named executive vice president and general counsel for the Power Authority. Kelly succeeds David Blabey, who spent more than eight years as NYPA’s secretary and general counsel, in addition to being executive vice president for most of that time. Kelly has an “impressive track record heading up EFC, and extensive knowledge of state and federal environmental laws, municipal finance, labor relations and corporate law,” said Timothy Carey, NYPA president and CEO. During Kelly’s tenure at EFC, the corporation, which reports to the governor, became one of the largest bond issuers in the country for environmental projects protecting public health, including air-pollution control, drinking-water and wastewater treatment, and solid- and hazardous-waste disposal.

ALBANY: Energy-Efficiency Efforts Featured at Conference— The benefits of energy efficiency and other clean energy services were the focus of a Power Authority exhibit during the 35th Annual Legislative Conference of the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators in mid-February at the Empire State Plaza here. The Power Authority’s efforts in those areas have included new lighting, heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems; automated energy-management systems; electric motors; energy-efficient refrigerators for public housing; and clean furnaces at public schools. NYPA’s energy services also include placing or helping to place about 800 clean electric-drive vehicles on the road for its statewide fleet of vehicles and those of its customers. To date, NYPA has completed 1,450 clean energy and efficiency projects at more than 2,350 facilities statewide, for annual savings of $92 million and reduction in peak electricity use of 193,000 kilowatts, or the amount of power for about 150,000 homes. These initiatives, pursued under various energy-services programs, have also reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions by 730,000 tons and dependence on foreign oil by more than 1.5 million barrels a year. Timothy Carey, NYPA president and CEO, noted the Power Authority continues to add to those numbers, investing up to $100 million a year on its clean energy services for public facilities statewide.

MASSENA: Lots of Learning Under Way at St. Lawrence Project—Schools near the Power Authority’s St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project can tap into a learning experience that could prove “hair-raising” for students. Staff members at the power project’s new Hawkins Point Visitors Center are offering a “Basics of Electricity” program targeted for fourth-graders. It teaches students how electricity is generated and covers concepts such as the atom, static electricity and electrical currents. Equipment such as magnets, wire coils, galvanometers, a hand-cranked generator and a Van de Graaff generator, which will literally stand a student’s hair on end, are demonstrated as part of the instruction. Rounding out the program is a slide show on the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project and its importance as an energy source for the people of New York, followed by an invitation to schedule follow-up field trips to the visitors center, across the South Channel from the power project. To schedule a classroom visit or a trip to the visitors center, call 315-764-0226.

In the Community: Niagara Power Project staff set up an information exhibit at the Heartland Travel Showcase, Buffalo Convention Center, Feb. 23-26…Staff at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project’s visitors center gave a presentation on the Basics of Electricity to students at the Sheridan Avenue Preparatory School, Albany, Feb. 17…NYPA speakers bureau members spoke to the Harrison Rotary Club, Feb. 15, and the Elmsford Rotary Club, Feb. 9, on the Power Authority’s programs in Westchester County. Members also spoke to regional high school students about real-world jobs in careers of potential interest at the Mercy College Career Day, Dobbs Ferry, Feb. 4…The Blenheim-Gilboa Project’s visitors center continued to be a major Capitol Region attraction, drawing 45,320 people in 2005 compared to 40,042 visitors in 2004