QUEENS: NYPA, Delta Announce La Guardia Clean Air Project—The region’s first fleet of airport electric ground-support vehicles has been unveiled at the historic Marine Air Terminal at La Guardia Airport in Queens. Delta Air Lines has replaced diesel-fueled equipment servicing the Delta Shuttle with fast-charging electric vehicles as a way to reduce air pollution. The $1.1 million project is partially funded by a $494,000 grant from the Queens Clean Air Project (QCAP) and $160,000 from the Power Authority. QCAP is a partnership with Clean Air Communities, funded by a $2 million grant from NYPA. Delta has retired 15 pieces of diesel equipment, including seven baggage tractors, six belt loaders and two aircraft tractors, and retrofitted one diesel aircraft tractor with a diesel particulate filter. The project will save 61,840 gallons of diesel fuel annually and reduce emissions by 19.2 tons per year. Delta worked with the staff of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, to install equipment needed to charge the batteries of the electric vehicles. Along with Clean Air Communities and NYPA, QCAP’s participants include the Northeast States Center for a Clean Air Future, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the New York Public Interest Research Group and the office of the Queens Borough President.

WHITE PLAINS: Two Companies Create Jobs With NYPA Power—Nearly 60 new jobs and capital expenditures totaling about $27 million will be supported in two villages in the state by allocations of economical Power Authority electricity to two companies through their municipal electric systems. Owl Wire & Cable Inc. is building a new facility in Boonville, Oneida County, and The Raymond Corp. is expanding its North America truck manufacturing operation in Greene, Chenango County. Owl Wire & Cable has customers in the energy, electronics, telecommunications and transportation industries. The $7 million expansion will lead to creation of 34 jobs and complement an existing operation in the Village of Canastota, Madison County. The Raymond Corp., a Toyota subsidiary, is undertaking a $20 million expansion in Greene, where it makes forklift trucks and other industrial vehicles. It will add 24 new jobs to its present work force of 910. The Boonville municipal electric system will receive 1,800 kilowatts (kw) of low-cost power on behalf of Owl Wire and Cable, and 200 kw will go the Greene municipal system on behalf of the Raymond Corp. Half is hydropower from NYPA’s Niagara Power Project.

TONAWANDA: Niagara Hydropower Helps Firm’s Expansion— A 300-kilowatt allocation of low-cost electricity from the Power Authority’s Niagara Power Project will support a Tonawanda manufacturer in a $1 million expansion. The Exolon Company, which sells products principally used for abrasive, refractory and surface-finishing applications, will refurbish a ball mill, a type of crusher used to grind materials like ores and ceramics into fine powder, and a kiln for heat-treating materials. Its present work force of 62 will be expanded by eight. The Western New York Advisory Group, consisting of NYPA, National Grid, Empire State Development Corp., the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and the Niagara County Department of Economic Development, recommends industrial power allocations from the Niagara project, which is directly linked to more than 43,500 jobs in the region.

MASSENA: Business, Government, Energy Questions Answered—The Power Authority will co-sponsor a free Energy Solutions Seminar on Nov. 9 for representatives of small businesses, institutions and local municipalities. Pre-registration is required for the event, to be held at NYPA’s Hawkins Point Visitors Center, since lunch will be served. Presentations will cover such topics as deregulation of the utility industry, how bulk purchases of electricity or gas can save money, choosing a new energy supplier and various money- and energy-saving strategies. The seminar was initiated by the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce’s energy task force and is being organized by Community Energy Services. Co-sponsor with NYPA is the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s North Country Energy $mart Communities. To pre-register for the seminar, which begins at 8:45 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m., call Community Energy Services at 315-379-9466.

POTSDAM: NYPA Co-sponsors Local Government Conference—“Managing Local Government: Affordability, Accountability, Accessibility” was the theme of an Oct. 17 conference co-sponsored by NYPA at the State University of New York’s College at Potsdam. About 350 representatives from municipalities in six Northern New York counties attended the event, hosted by the Merwin Rural Services Institute on the Potsdam campus. Participants heard from experts on various issues of concern to local governments, including health care costs, community development strategies and public works projects. An exhibit featuring NYPA’s St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project in Massena and its Hawkins Point Visitors Center helped conference attendees learn about the Power Authority’s contributions in the North Country and throughout New York State.

LEWISTON: Two NYPA Staffers Recognized at YWCA Awards— An employee at the Power Authority’s Niagara Power Project received the Front Line Award at the 2006 YWCA Niagara Awards Dinner in late September. Paula Galloway, a general clerk at the Niagara project, was recognized during the “Tribute to Women Dinner” for her efforts in coordinating the power project’s annual “Holiday Adoption Fund,” which raises money for clothes and toys for needy children, and for her extensive involvement in her church, where she organizes such activities as a Mother-Daughter Tea, a Pastors Appreciation event, and retreats. Galloway previously was distinguished as a past NYPA Employee of the Quarter, and in 1999 received the Niagara County Black Achiever of the Year Award. Suzette Kosikowski was nominated in the Professional Award category for her work as an environmental scientist at the Niagara project, where she ensures that all programs related to air, water and solid waste are in compliance with federal, state and local regulatory requirements.