LEWISTON: Power Authority Linemen Aid in Storm Cleanup— Several crews of Power Authority transmission line workers were dispatched to Western New York to help clear massive numbers of fallen trees following the October record snowstorm in the Buffalo-Niagara region. Linemen from three NYPA facilities—the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project in Massena, the Clark Energy Center in Marcy and the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project in the Northern Catskills—went to the region. Crews from NYPA’s Niagara Power Project in Lewiston were available to assist. The linemen were equipped with lift trucks, chain saws, wood chippers and other equipment and worked closely with the New York State Office of Emergency Management, which led the recovery efforts under Governor George Pataki. “The Power Authority has a special relationship with Western New York thanks to the operation of the Niagara project,” said NYPA President Timothy Carey. “We want to do everything we can to support the cleanup efforts.”

LAKE PLACID: Efficient Machinery Energizes Olympic Region —The Power Authority, as part of its continuing partnership with the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), will help fund replacement of most of the air compressors used to make snow at Whiteface and Gore Mountains with high-efficiency models that will reduce the world-class Winter Olympic facilities’ annual utility bills by more than $430,000. The $5.7 million energy-efficiency initiative is expected to cut electricity use by 600,000 kilowatt-hours annually and dependence on foreign oil by 4,500 barrels. NYPA will recover its costs over 10 years by sharing in the savings. The work will also prevent oil used in the snowmaking process from reaching the mountains, for an added environmental benefit. The efficiency upgrades support the Olympic authority in managing its costs and ensuring that its ski facilities and other attractions remain the Winter Sports Capital of the World. Also included will be new power-control and heat-recovery features to further cut energy costs. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is providing a $275,000 grant for the project, and there will be grants of $320,000 from the Petroleum Overcharge Restitution Fund.

SARANAC LAKE: Tri-Lakes Energy Expo to Return Oct. 28— Billing it as an event to “knock the chill out of your energy bill,” the Power Authority will once again support a free Energy Expo in the Tri-Lakes region to advise owners of homes and businesses on ways to conserve energy and reduce bills. This year’s Expo is set for Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Harrietstown Town Hall, 39 Main St. here. More than 20 vendors of energy-saving products and services will be on hand to discuss topics such as energy audits, energy-efficient appliances and solar and other renewable energy sources. The Expo will spotlight environmentally compatible materials, such as green cleaning products, nontoxic paints and low-mercury light bulbs. Other organizers and supporters of the Expo include National Grid, the New York Energy $martSM program—a joint initiative of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state Public Service Commission—the Adirondack North Country Association, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and the North Country Energy $mart Communities. For more details visit NYPA’s website at www.nypa.gov. Last fall’s event attracted more than 300 consumers.

STATEN ISLAND: Power Authority Receives Economic Award— The Staten Island Economic Development Corporation has honored the Power Authority for “making a lasting impact on the economic development of Staten Island.” Four awards, named after famous Staten Island bridges, were presented to organizations and businesses that have helped boost the borough’s economy by providing jobs or technological advances. NYPA received the Bayonne Bridge Award for its contributions, including nearly $20 million in energy-efficiency projects at 66 public facilities, resulting in annual energy bill savings of $2 million to taxpayers. The energy savings also reduce the need for foreign oil by 36,000 barrels a year, and eliminate 16,000 tons of greenhouse gases. NYPA has installed some of its clean alternative energy projects in Staten Island as well, including six-kilowatt (kw) solar photovoltaic systems at P.S. 13 and P.S. 14, and a 200-kw fuel cell at the Oakwood Beach Wastewater Treatment Facility.

BUFFALO: Niagara Riverwalk Gets Boost from Power Authority— NYPA has helped to kick-start the development of interconnected parks, river access points and waterfront trails along the Niagara River by providing a $10,000 leadership grant to the Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo & Western New York to begin creation of the Riverwalk Bike Path Greenway Micro-Park System. It will consist of a series of micro-parks to be developed along the 3.25 miles of the Buffalo Riverwalk Bike Path from Riverside Park to the Tifft Nature Preserve. In presenting the grant, NYPA Trustee Elise Cusack of Eggertsville said, “The Power Authority recognizes the importance of partnering with groups in the region whose aim is to create new recreational opportunities while at the same time giving area residents greater access to the waterfront.” The micro-parks would be a series of oases along the path, with each one offering an individual attraction.

ALBANY: NYPA Joins Hybrid-Electric School Bus Project— The Power Authority and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will purchase two hybrid-electric school buses through a multi-state group of school districts, state energy agencies and student transportation providers. The Hybrid-Electric School Bus Purchasing Consortium is dedicated to encouraging major school bus commercialization of hybrid-electric school buses. “New York State has moved aggressively to reduce school bus emissions by enabling local school districts to purchase emissions-reduction technologies. The Power Authority has played its part through the installation of diesel oxidation catalysts on 1,426 buses in New York City,” said NYPA President Timothy Carey. “Earlier we rolled out two battery-powered electric school buses, now in use in Westchester and Rockland counties. We consider the introduction of the hybrid-electric school bus essential to improved air quality for our children and all New Yorkers.” NYPA will own the buses, which will be made available for demonstrations by various school districts throughout the state.

HERE AND THERE: Close Encounters of the Eerie Kind— There’ll be no shortage of ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night as NYPA’s three power project visitors centers gear up for Halloween with free family events on Saturday, October 28. Everything’s scary in Schoharie County—costumes, stories and the number of spiders on a web—as the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project in North Blenheim presents its annual “S’cary Halloween” event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A “Halloween Spooktacular” will take place at the Niagara Power Project’s Power Vista in Lewiston from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the St. Lawrence-FDR Project’s Hawkins Point Visitors Center holds its bone-chillin’ bonanza from 1 to 3 pm. At the latter two events, look for a haunted house tour, face painting, games, refreshments and a costume contest with plenty of prizes. For more information or travel directions, visit the Power Authority’s website at www.nypa.gov.