NORTH BLENHEIM: Power Project Modernization To Begin— A comprehensive program to replace or rehabilitate the major mechanical and electrical components of the Power Authority's Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project (B-G) is scheduled to get under way in September. The life extension program will improve cycle efficiency, pumping flows and flexibility of operations at the hydropower project, which was completed in 1973 and has a generating capacity of 1,040 megawatts. The project’s output is used to meet the state's peak-period power demands, and the plant can also provide emergency power production to "pinch hit" within minutes if another power plant or line goes out of service. One of the project's four pump-generating units will be shut down from fall to spring during each of the next four years. Unit work will require lowering of the upper reservoir water level to permit replacement of spherical valves that control water flow into the project's powerhouse, which is about 80 percent underground. The Power Authority closed the upper reservoir to all public recreational activities, including boating and shoreline fishing, on Sept. 5 to allow construction crews to mobilize. The program calls for replacement of pump-turbines, replacement or rehabilitation of spherical valves and replacement or rehabilitation of support equipment. B-G is the state's largest energy storage system and one of the nation's largest hydroelectric plants.

SYRACUSE: Energy-Efficiency Project Completed at College— A $1.2 million project to install two new chillers and other cooling-system improvements has been completed at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The Power Authority managed the work and provided low-cost financing, which will be paid back through annual energy savings of nearly $60,000. The new energy-efficient chillers replace 40-year-old units in two classroom and lab buildings, Illick Hall and Walters Hall. NYPA previously installed an advanced high-temperature molten carbonate fuel cell at the college, producing 17 percent of the school’s electricity requirements through an emission-free chemical process. The energy projects, along with energy-efficient lighting installed by NYPA during the mid-1990s, add up to savings of $170,000 per year for the school, and reduce annual oil consumption by 2,500 barrels.

COOPERSTOWN: Power Authority Contributes to Aquatic Study—The Power Authority and state Sen. James Seward have announced $10,000 in funding for research by the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oneonta to control and monitor the growth of an invasive aquatic plant, the water chestnut, in an Otsego County wetlands area. NYPA and the New York State Senate each contributed $5,000 to the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, which will coordinate the study in the Susquehanna River Basin. The spread of water chestnuts can impede other horticultural life and recreational activities on waterways, as well as operation of hydropower projects, said NYPA President Timothy Carey. Water chestnuts can cover a large area, resembling a dense floating mat, reducing light below the surface. Sharp spines on the plants can limit boating, fishing and swimming. The multiyear SUNY study will help determine the effectiveness of a selective herbicide treatment as a possible alternative to manual or mechanical removal of the water chestnuts.

HERE AND THERE: Wildlife Featured at Annual NYPA Festivals—Three Power Authority-sponsored Wildlife Festivals are once again on tap this year around the state, featuring hands-on interactive family fun with the likes of live exotic animals, arts and crafts, a range of entertainment and plenty to eat from local vendors. As part of NYPA’s goal of promoting environmental awareness, each festival will include workshops conducted by conservation educators. All festivals are scheduled for Sept. 23 at or near Power Authority facilities, and all events are free. The Visitors Center at NYPA’s Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project in North Blenheim will host its 21st annual Wildlife Festival. For the first time, this year’s event at Blenheim-Gilboa will include an “energy expo,” with information provided by local vendors on how to reduce energy use, and energy bills, in homes and businesses. Also holding its 21st Wildlife Festival will be the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston, a two-day affair at its Power Vista. NYPA’s Clark Energy Center near Utica will hold its fourth festival at nearby Deerfield Wilderness Park in Deerfield. The festivals will be held rain or shine, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days at the Niagara project. For more details and travel directions visit www.nypa.gov.

MASSENA: A Weekend of Movin’ and Groovin’ at Hawkins Point—NYPA’s Hawkins Point Visitors Center at the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project will play host to two community events on the weekend of Sept. 16 and Sept. 17. On Sept. 16, area residents will be able to walk, run, Rollerblade or ride bikes at the NYPA-sponsored Dam 4-Miler to benefit the Massena Free Clinic and the Shriners Hospitals for Children. A minimum $15 sponsorship donation is required to participate. Registration is at 9 a.m., with timed runners set to begin at 10 a.m., and all others to start at 10:30 a.m. There will be live music and free T-Shirts for the first 150 registrants. On Sept. 17, from noon to 4 p.m., an antique truck show featuring a variety of vintage passenger and working trucks will be on display. Truck owners will be available to answer questions and provide insight on this interesting aspect of vehicle collecting. Admission is free for the antique truck show. Participants at both events also will have an opportunity to enjoy the wide array of interactive exhibits at the Visitors Center as well as panoramic views of the power dam.

NEW YORK CITY: Power Authority Supports Economics Meeting—The Power Authority will join other public and private interests in supporting this year’s International Economic Development Council conference, to be held here Sept. 17-20. Co-sponsored by New York City’s Department of Small Business Services and the city’s Economic Development Corporation, the conference is designed to help communities large and small develop their own specialized roadmaps for a new “knowledge-driven economy,” emphasizing information, communications and scientific/technological advances. As a “signature sponsor,” the Power Authority will host an exhibit highlighting its economic development and energy services programs throughout the state, particularly in New York City, where NYPA’s low-cost electricity powers municipal government facilities as well as private businesses and non-profit organizations. To learn more, visit the conference website at: www.iedconline.org.

MASSENA: NYPA Spotlights Boat Launch Improvements—Rehabilitation work at the Massena Intake Boat Launch, stemming from commitments made by the Power Authority as part of the relicensing of the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, has been completed. “We consider these and other recreational improvements to be part of our responsible stewardship of St. Lawrence-FDR,” said Richard Turner, NYPA’s regional manager, Northern New York. The work includes improved lighting, rearranged lanes and docks, a new fishing pier, expanded boat docking, parking spaces, pathways to picnic areas and an informational kiosk. Many of the improvements are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The rehabilitation, completed in the spring, was marked by a ceremony in late August attended by Turner and Town of Massena Supervisor Gary Edwards. The Power Authority has relied on Northern New York and other upstate firms for its recreational improvements in connection with the new project license.