Executive Speeches

Excerpts from remarks of Timothy S. Carey, president and chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority, at an event marking designation of the Power Authority’s office building in White Plains as the first existing building in New York State to obtain the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold-EB rating, White Plains, New York.

January 25, 2007

Thank you for joining us on this special occasion.

It may be a little brisk out here, but the Power Authority is glowing with pride. 

Today we mark the designation of the Authority’s Clarence D. Rappleyea Building as the first existing building in New York State to achieve Gold-EB status under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system—for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

We’re honored to have with us the man for whom this Green Building is named—a distinguished former chairman and CEO of the Power Authority and longtime legislative leader in Albany—Rapp Rappleyea.  Rapp was committed to energy efficiency and environmental protection throughout his five and a half years at the Authority.  It’s fitting that the building that bears his name has been officially recognized as a model of sustainable development and operation.

The LEED rating system is the premier means for assessing the green credentials of new and existing buildings throughout the nation.  LEED certification at any level—let alone Gold, which is the second highest of the four categories—is a coveted seal of approval.  It is proof that a building has met exacting standards for saving energy and water, for efficient use of materials, for improving the health and productivity of its occupants.

To put what’s been accomplished here in perspective:

• Besides being the first existing building in New York State to earn LEED Gold-EB recognition, this is one of only seven Gold buildings in the state, existing or new.

• Nationally, it’s one of 19 LEED Gold-EB facilities.

• And it’s one of just five existing government-owned buildings in the U.S. to achieve the Gold designation.

In 2002, the Power Authority completed a wide-ranging energy efficiency project in this building that cut our annual electricity use by more than 50 percent.

Early last year, we decided to build on this foundation and seek LEED recognition.  But not just LEED—LEED gold. 

Among other things, we improved indoor environmental quality by installing new air filters and requiring the use of non-hazardous paints and cleaning products.  We cut anticipated annual water use by nearly 130,000 gallons through such measures as installing a landscaping control system and low-flow toilets.  We significantly expanded our recycling program.  We provided designated parking in our garage for employees and tenants driving in car pools or using hybrid-electric vehicles.

Now we’re looking to do still more at this building.  We’ve gone out to bid on a new rooftop solar unit to go along with the one that’s already in place.  We’re studying possibilities for fuel cells, a wind turbine and a green roof—and for additional lighting control systems and indoor air quality monitoring.

We also plan to work toward LEED recognition at other Power Authority locations such as the administrative buildings at our projects and our new visitors center at the St. Lawrence-FDR hydroelectric facility.

We want to help our customers—here in Westchester County and elsewhere—attain LEED certification for their buildings. 

And we intend to bring sustainable practices to all of our operations—not just buildings, but power plants, transmission rights-of-way, the entire Power Authority system.

This is in line with my goal of making the Power Authority of the State of New York the cleanest and greenest electric utility in the United States of America. 

I now want to recognize several of the staff members who played key roles in the superb effort that brought us the LEED Gold-EB designation.

Leading the team was Angelo Esposito, the head of our Energy Services and Technology group.  Thanks also to Rich Hackman, the LEED program manager, and to Susan Egginton, Shawn McGinnis, George Marriott, Gary Deering, Bill Desmond and Glenn Piwinski of our Corporate Support Services and Facilities Management staffs.

Many other Authority employees contributed to this project, along with our consultant, contractors, vendors and tenants.

The successful LEED effort also bears the imprint of Shalom Zelingher, the Power Authority’s chief technology development officer, who, sadly, passed away on Tuesday afternoon.  The Authority’s leadership in development of clean new energy technologies is attributable in large part to Shalom’s technical genius and his dedication to this cause.  We—and our entire industry—will miss him.

Finally, a special thanks to our chairman, Frank McCullough, and our other trustees.  Their unstinting support and encouragement were essential to our success.