Executive Speeches

Excerpts from remarks of Timothy S. Carey, president and chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority, at the announcement of a $5.7 million energy efficiency project for facilities operated by the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority, Lake Placid, New York.

October 12, 2006

As Chairman McCullough indicated, the Power Authority values its longstanding partnerships with Lake Placid—and with ORDA and Ted Blazer.  With Governor Pataki’s strong support, we are committed to helping Lake Placid retain its title as the “Winter Sports Capital of the World.”

Today—in keeping with that commitment—we are launching a $5.7 million energy efficiency project at Whiteface and Gore mountains.

Part of the cost will be offset by a $275,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.  Our thanks to Peter Smith at NYSERDA.  We have also obtained a $320,000 grant through the Petroleum Overcharge Restitution Fund—under which the federal government compensates the state for past oil company overcharges.

The new project calls for replacing most of the air compressors used to make snow at the two mountains with high-efficiency models. Less electricity will be required for each unit of compressed air.  In addition, new power-control and heat-recovery features will help to further cut energy costs.

Snowmaking is an extremely energy-intensive activity, so the benefits will be significant.

Annual savings on electricity bills will come to more than $430,000—from which the Power Authority will recover its up-front investment.

We anticipate that the more-efficient snowmaking equipment will lower yearly electricity use by close to 600,000 kilowatt hours.  This—along with reduced reliance on oil at the sites themselves—will mean that total oil use will be cut each year by about 4,500 barrels and greenhouse-gas emissions by some 2,000 tons.

As an added environmental bonus, the new compressors will prevent oil used in the snowmaking process from reaching the mountains.

We completed our first energy efficiency project with ORDA in 1998.  It involved installing a diesel-powered air compressor at Whiteface Mountain to reduce the use of electricity in peak-demand periods.

Just last year, we finished our second project, which entailed installation of more-efficient snowmakers at the two mountains.

And now we’re about to begin our latest initiative.

While on the subject of saving energy, let me inform you about the Tri-Lakes Energy Expo, a free event we’ll be co-sponsoring in Saranac Lake on October 28.  There will be plenty of tips on how to cut both energy use and costs, and I hope you’ll be able to make it.

Energy efficiency is a very important part of the Power Authority’s cooperative relationship with ORDA.  The partnership also includes our support for the Fresh Air Fund and Head Start Ski programs.  Our sponsorship of national and international competitions. And our role in the Congressional Winter Olympic Challenge—an event we view as vital to building support for this magnificent winter sports mecca.

We take pride in this relationship. And—with our newest project—we look forward to helping the mountain venues set the standard not only for beauty, but also for sustainability and for the efficient and environmentally responsible use of energy.