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| Week of May 4, 2008 |
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NIAGARA FALLS: New Ethanol Facility Gets Low-Cost Power—Low-cost
hydropower from the Power Authority’s Niagara Power Project will support
plans for a new ethanol production facility in Niagara Falls that include
capital investment of $245 million and 105 new jobs. NYPA trustees approved
an allocation of 9,000 kilowatts of hydropower to Northern Ethanol, LLC, a
Toronto-based company that plans to purchase a 47th Street parcel from
Praxair for construction of the new ethanol facility, as well as offices, a
laboratory and a warehouse. “We’re excited about helping to bring this
ethanol plant to Niagara County and contributing to expanding the state’s
renewable fuel production,” Roger Kelley, NYPA president and chief executive
officer, said. “Initiatives like this keep energy dollars in New York State
by lessening dependence on foreign oil while curbing greenhouse gas
emissions. The new facility also promises a sizable number of new jobs, a $7
million annual payroll and approximately $4 million a year of new business
in connection with the services of local companies.” Other benefits for the
area economy include 500 construction jobs over a 20-month period, with a
large number to be filled by Western New Yorkers; purchases of corn
feedstock from local farmers for the production of ethanol; and additional
tax revenues. BUFFALO: 3 Western New York Firms Receive Low-Cost Power—Allocations of low-cost Power Authority hydropower will help three Western New York businesses create a total of 110 new jobs and spur $32.7 million in capital investments. Allied Frozen Food Storage will receive 600 kilowatts (kw) for plans to create 54 new jobs and invest $2.3 million in connection with leasing and equipping a cold storage warehouse in West Seneca. PortCoat, LLC, was approved for 2,000 kw to create 50 new jobs and invest $30 million to support plans for a Lackawanna facility to provide coated steel for construction product suppliers. Val-Kro, Inc. was approved for 300 kw in connection with a $400,000 expansion at the aluminum-finishing business in North Tonawanda that will add six jobs to its current work force of 13. The new hydropower allocations, approved in late April by Power Authority trustees, support Gov. David Paterson’s pledge to encourage upstate business opportunities. ELLENBERG: Wind Power Flows Through Power Authority Line— Electricity generated at Nobel Environmental Power wind farms in Ellenburg and Clinton was delivered to a Power Authority North Country substation this spring—NYPA's first wind-generated power delivery to the state's electrical grid. Nobel’s 12 Clinton County turbines, each generating 1.5 megawatts (mw), now direct power to NYPA's Willis-Plattsburgh 230-kilovolt transmission lines. Nobel has been awarded long-term contracts to provide more than 500 mw of wind power as part of New York's Renewable Portfolio Standard. The company plans to install an additional 65 and 71 turbines at its upstate Altona and Chateaugay wind farms, respectively, with each turbine producing about 1.5 mw. Nobel has other wind farms planned over several years for additional sites in Clinton, Franklin and Wyoming counties. THE BRONX: Hybrid-Electric Buses Roll in Hunts Point— A $300,000 NYPA contribution toward the purchase of five hybrid-electric shuttle buses for the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC) has borne fruit. After several years of rigorous testing, the Hunts Point Clean Air Transportation Shuttle Service is now rolling, with a long-awaited free service carrying Hunts Point employees to and from work in an underserved portion of the Bronx. Well over 300 workers from more than 30 local companies have registered to ride. The three vehicles run seven hours daily on 30-minute loops. The 20-passenger buses are the first hybrids in their vehicle class, emitting up to 30 percent fewer greenhouse gases, while using up to 40 percent less fuel than traditional buses. The project was launched by the BOEDC as part of the Bronx Initiative for Energy and the Environment, a program started through a $7 million NYPA grant. ASTORIA: Nine Electric Vehicles Available to Serve Astoria Park— Nine new electric vehicles are available for service in Astoria Park as the final initiative in the Queens Clean Air Project (QCAP), in which the Power Authority invested $2 million. By replacing gasoline- and diesel-fueled vehicles with state-of the-art electric ones, the project will save 8,210 gallons of fuel and reduce emissions by 153 tons over the expected 10-year service life of the new vehicles. Two of the vehicles are for passenger use and seven for utility work. NEW YORK CITY: Wastewater Treatment Plant Yields Savings—New York City taxpayers will save $1.6 million a year in energy and maintenance costs, as well as $60,000 a year in avoided water expenses, through a recently completed energy-efficiency project at the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Upper Manhattan. The project, which included significant design measures to improve the facility’s energy efficiency, will also result in an annual reduction of about 8,600 tons of greenhouse gas emissions and eliminate use of 12,600 barrels of imported oil per year. The treatment plant work is one of the Power Authority’s largest energy-efficiency projects to date. Working with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, NYPA financed $15 million of the capital costs of the $37 million project and provided supervisory and management services during the design and construction. WHITE PLAINS: NYPA Celebrates Earth Day Around the State—The Power Authority observed Earth Day with a week-long series of events in late April at its visitors centers and as part of celebrations in various communities. The Niagara Power Project’s Power Vista in Lewiston was host to an environmental exhibit and an envirothon competition for high school students, and the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project’s Visitors Center in Schoharie County had an envirothon and presentations on recycling. NYPA also was part of events in at least nine communities, with presentations on energy efficiency, clean transportation and the environment, and including co-sponsorship of an envirothon at Paul Smith’s College in Paul Smiths, N.Y. In an Earth Day message, NYPA President and CEO Roger Kelley said the Power Authority “will continue to search for ways to use our resources to promote cleaner air, renewable fuels, new technologies and—most of all—energy conservation.” He said NYPA’s “many programs to protect the environment and conserve energy are very much in line with the goals of the Earth Day movement.” |