NEW YORK CITY: Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Debuts at Newspaper—The New York Times has been selected to receive the first medium-duty plug-in hybrid electric vehicle on the East Coast, and will use it to transport its newspapers around the city and into New Jersey. A partnership that includes the Power Authority will provide the Dodge Sprinter van to the newspaper for a three-year commercial demonstration. It will be housed at The Times’ printing plant in College Point, Queens. The other partners are DaimlerChrysler, the Electric Power Research Institute and Con Edison. Plug-in hybrids can operate in all-electric or hybrid mode. The Sprinter has an electric range of up to 20 miles. On short urban routes with much stop-and-go driving the vehicle can operate for most of a day in zero-emission electric mode. The vehicle will return to base after each shift to be plugged into the power grid and recharged overnight, a cost-effective use of off-peak, low-cost electricity.

LEWISTON: Hearing on Hydropower Contracts Set for May 7— The Power Authority will hold a public hearing May 7 on nine proposed contracts for new allocations of low-cost hydropower from NYPA’s Niagara Power Project. The allocations, totaling 29 megawatts, stem from settlement agreements NYPA reached with local stakeholders as part of the Niagara project relicensing. If approved by the governor, the power contracts would commence on Sept. 1, the same day NYPA’s new 50-year license takes effect. The allocations are intended to help lower the electric bills of nine local entities. They are the Tuscarora Nation, Niagara University and seven host communities, which are Niagara County, the towns of Niagara and Lewiston, the City of Niagara Falls, and three school districts: Lewiston-Porter, Niagara Wheatfield and the City of Niagara Falls. The public hearing will be held at the Power Vista, the Niagara project’s admission-free visitors center, starting at 1 p.m. Further details are available at: www.nypa.gov .

AUBURN: ‘Power to Schools’ Forums Held Around State— School officials in several regions of New York State are learning about a major opportunity to save energy and money at forums conducted under NYPA’s “Power to Schools” program. A session is scheduled for April 25 here in Auburn, at the Holiday Inn, 75 North St., and similar meetings were held earlier this month in Utica and Cobleskill. The Power to Schools program, created by state legislation in 2004, authorizes NYPA to assist public and private schools in implementing energy-efficiency projects to save money and energy. Partnering with the State Education Department, NYPA conducts energy audits and installs new lighting, boilers, chillers and other measures, financing the work and recovering its costs by sharing in energy savings. The first project, replacement of an inefficient steam boiler plant with new boilers and installation of a new temperature control system, was recently completed in the Albany School District. NYPA has completed similar projects at close to 1,200 public schools under earlier programs, with resulting annual taxpayer savings of about $32 million in energy costs. Schools need not obtain their electricity from the Power Authority to participate in the program.

HERE AND THERE: Power Authority Helps Celebrate Earth Day— The Power Authority’s increasing emphasis on green, sustainable practices was evident at several Earth Day events this month. NYPA President Timothy Carey has said that he wants the Authority to be “the greenest power utility in the world,” while citing NYPA’s support for renewable power sources, energy-efficient technologies and green building development. During Earth Day weekend (April 20-22), the Power Authority participated in six events at various locations. On Friday, a NYPA-sponsored hybrid-electric vehicle was on display at Hostos Community College’s “Bronx Energy and Environment Expo.” NYPA’s Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project in the Catskills hosted an Earth Day celebration at its visitors center on Saturday; also on Saturday, the Power Authority participated in events at the Staten Island Zoo and the Westchester County Center in White Plains. On Sunday, at Tibbets Brook Park in Yonkers, NYPA displayed a hybrid-electric vehicle and traded compact fluorescent light bulbs to anyone bringing in items for recycling. The “Greening Riverdale” environmental fair in the Bronx featured a NYPA hybrid vehicle as well. And one week earlier, the Power Vista at NYPA’s Niagara Power Project hosted an “Every Day is Earth Day” event with educational and entertaining activities for environmentalists of all ages.

CANTON: North Country Energy Fair Gets NYPA Support—Preserving the environment will be the theme of the 2007 North Country Sustainable Energy Fair April 27-29 at the State University of New York Canton Campus Center. The Power Authority will be a sponsor and have an exhibit. The fair is billed as the largest and most varied in the event’s 15-year history. The agenda includes 45 workshops, panel discussions and demonstrations of renewable and non-polluting energy sources; tours of green homes; more than 50 exhibits; a keynote speech by a solar energy expert; and a science fair for students in grades four through 12.

STATEN ISLAND: NYPA Co-Sponsors Economic Conference—Business and civic leaders from throughout the New York metropolitan region are expected to attend Staten Island’s annual economic development conference, set for April 24 at the Hilton Garden Inn. As in past years, the Power Authority will co-sponsor the event, hosted by the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation. The all-day gathering will feature keynote presentations, technical assistance seminars, panel discussions and business-to-business vending among thousands of attendees. Scheduled speakers include Borough President James Molinaro, New York Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mike Wallace, Pulitzer Prize winning historian and director of the Gotham Center, who will speak on the history of Staten Island. More information is available at: www.siedc.net.

WHITE PLAINS: Power Authority Backs Envirothons— Since 1990, Envirothons throughout New York State have been energized by a simple formula: combine proven environmental education concepts with spirited team competition and the sheer enjoyment of a day in the outdoors. NYPA this spring will co-sponsor Envirothons for the North Country, testing students from St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton and Essex counties; Central New York’s Oneida County; the Capital Region, for students from Albany, Schenectady and Schoharie counties; and the Nassau-Suffolk County Region. The competitions measure competence in soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatics and, this year, alternative/renewable energy. Winners will compete at the New York State Envirothon at the State University of New York College at Cobleskill on May 23 and 24.