Executive Speeches

Excerpts from remarks of Timothy S. Carey, president and chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority, at a Seminar on Green and Sustainable Schools, Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Syracuse, New York.

March 22, 2007

I’m pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this timely and important seminar.

Seven or eight years ago, when I was the president and CEO of the Battery Park City Authority in Lower Manhattan, I told some members of the staff that we wanted to build green buildings.  They thought at first I was talking about the color of the bricks.  I doubt if there’d be a response like that anyplace now.

The move to green buildings is gaining momentum every day—as shown by the quantum leap in facilities seeking certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program and in USGBC membership.

This reflects growing concerns about global warming and other threats to our environment, about our continuing dependence on oil from unstable parts of the world and about potential shortages of energy, water and other vital resources.

It also reflects increased recognition by developers, investors, building owners and major corporations that sustainable development can make economic sense.  And some of the factors that appeal to them—such as lower operating costs and improved health and productivity of building occupants—are directly relevant to every school in this state, and indeed throughout the nation.

Every dollar that a school district doesn’t spend on electricity, or heat, or water can be spent for purely educational purposes.  And every day not lost to absenteeism by a student or teacher is a day for learning, for achievement and for growth.

A recent article in Barron’s noted that absenteeism dropped by 14 percent when Toyota’s customer-service group moved into a LEED-Gold addition to the company’s facility in Torrance, California.  In a similar vein, after PNC Financial Services Group moved to a LEED-Silver building in Pittsburgh, employee turnover reportedly fell 50 percent below typical levels for the company.  I think any school district would welcome numbers like that.

I firmly believe that the experience gained in the commercial sector can be successfully applied in earning LEED certification for school buildings.

I’d therefore like to focus this morning on a recent effort .by the New York Power Authority that resulted in designation of our 26-year-old administrative office building in White Plains as the first existing building in New York State to achieve LEED Gold-EB status.  I’ll then discuss our “Power to Schools” program, which provides a great opportunity for the Power Authority to work with school districts on LEED-related projects.

First, though, I should note that despite the somewhat inauspicious start I mentioned earlier, we went on at Battery Park City to construct The Solaire, the first green residential high-rise building in the United States. The Solaire won LEED Gold certification in 2004 and became the first of eight green residential buildings that will ultimately rise at Battery Park City.

One of the most satisfying aspects of this project for me was the improvement in the health of children who had moved into the building with respiratory ailments and who benefited almost immediately from its superior indoor air quality.  Talking to their parents convinced me that the rewards of green buildings go well beyond even energy and dollar savings.

While The Solaire was moving ahead, the Power Authority was carrying out a major energy efficiency project at its 450,000-square-foot office building in White Plains. There was as yet no LEED process for existing buildings, but this project had a huge impact in its own right and provided a solid foundation for the eventual LEED initiative.

The energy efficiency work, completed in 2002, cut the building’s annual electricity costs by nearly $450,000.  It also lowered yearly electricity use by more than 50 percent—some 5 million kilowatt hours—compared with 1990 levels. This surpassed a 35 percent reduction that state-owned buildings are required to achieve by 2010 under an Executive Order issued by former Governor Pataki in 2001 and renewed by Governor Spitzer just after he took office this past January.

Other benefits have included reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions and oil use, thanks to decreased reliance on fossil-fueled power plants.

The major feature of the energy efficiency program was a new cooling plant that represented more than half the total cost and has provided the bulk of the energy and dollar savings.  Some of the other measures were efficient lighting, a computerized energy management system, reflective window film, occupancy sensors and light-emitting-diode exit signs.

The Power Authority had previously installed a 30-kilowatt microturbine and a 5.5-kilowatt rooftop solar photovoltaic project that also cut the need for electricity from the power grid.

By the time I became NYPA’s president and chief executive officer in February of 2006, the USGBC’s program for existing buildings was up and running.  And one of my top priorities from the start was to build on what the Power Authority had already accomplished and to win LEED-EB recognition for the White Plains building.

I saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate that existing buildings—though different from new ones—also offer tremendous LEED potential.

With an existing building, the emphasis is on operations rather than design. Since you’re not starting from scratch, you can’t do everything you might want.  But—as we found at the Power Authority—you can concentrate on identifying areas in which you’re already strong, focus on those that need improvement and take actions that make the most technical and financial sense.

As we moved ahead last year, it wasn’t long before we set our sights not just on LEED—but on LEED-Gold.  With the energy efficiency measures in place, we took a wide range of additional actions that included:

• Installing about 160 new air filters that block more than 90 percent of the dust, pollen and other undesirable components that could otherwise be drawn into the building.

• Using non-hazardous paints and cleaning products.

• Cutting anticipated annual water use by 130,000 gallons through such measures as installing a landscaping control system, low-flush toilets and reduced-flow bathroom faucets.

• Expanding the recycling of paper, bottles and cans.

• Offering designated parking in the building’s garage for employees and tenants driving in car pools or using hybrid-electric vehicles.

• Purchasing renewable energy credits for 30 percent of the building’s energy use.

On an ongoing basis, we’re putting in low-mercury lighting as existing bulbs require replacement.  And, as carpeting is replaced, we’re turning to products that are recycled and that don’t give off harmful chemicals.

The LEED program was essentially carried out in a matter of months by a core team of Power Authority staff members, working with other employees as necessary and with our consultant, contractors and vendors.

The effort came to fruition this past January 25 when Rick Fedrizzi joined us for the formal unveiling of the LEED Gold-EB plaque that now adorns the front of our building.

At that point, we moved into some pretty select company:

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

• It is one of 17 LEED Gold-EB facilities nationally—and 18 worldwide.

• And it is one of just four existing government-owned buildings in the United States to achieve the Gold designation—though it’s absolutely essential for that number to go up, and to go up significantly.

Meanwhile, at the Power Authority we’re working to become still greener.

At the White Plains building, we’ve solicited bids for a new eight-kilowatt rooftop solar project to go along with the solar unit that’s already in place.  We’re also looking at possibilities for fuel cells, a wind turbine and a green roof for the building.

We’ve completed or are planning energy efficiency measures at several of our power plants and related facilities such as the visitors center at our St. Lawrence- FDR project in Massena. Our trustees last month authorized an additional $2.5 million for these efforts, increasing the total commitment to $11 million.

This is part of a broader push to bring sustainable practices to every aspect of our operations.  A team of Power Authority employees that we formed to focus on this project is now reviewing a report on best sustainability practices by more than 35 utilities and other entities in the U.S. and in several European countries, Australia and South Africa.

Closer to home, we’re conducting a training program that will enable a number of our staff members—and those of our customers—to become LEED-Accredited Professionals. NYPA employees completing the program will be available to help others—including school districts—pursue LEED certification for their buildings.

This could tie in nicely with the Power to Schools program that I mentioned earlier.

Power to Schools was created by state law enacted in 2004. The legislation authorizes the Power Authority to help all public and private schools in the state carry out energy efficiency projects and install clean energy sources such as solar units and fuel cells.  It also allows us to help schools buy economical electricity in the competitive state markets.

Actually, we’d done extensive energy efficiency work in public schools even before Power to Schools was established.  Thus far, we’ve completed projects at close to 1,200 school facilities throughout the state—including buildings in the Syracuse, North Syracuse, Baldwinsville and Lyncourt school districts here in Onondaga County.

Statewide, the completed projects save the districts—and the taxpayers—nearly $32 million a year while cutting peak demand for electricity by about 70 megawatts.  They also reduce annual oil use by some 418,000 barrels and greenhouse-gas emissions by nearly 195,000 tons.

For all this, Power to Schools brings a new dimension to these activities:

• It enables the Power Authority to work with private schools for the first time.

• It affirms our ability to carry out energy efficiency and clean energy projects in public schools—including those that don’t obtain their electricity from us.

• And—as Carl Thurnau well knows—it formalizes a partnership between NYPA and the State Education Department to move these projects forward.

In working with a school district or other public entity, the Power Authority typically provides up-front financing with a low-interest loan and oversees all aspects of a project’s implementation. We recover our costs by sharing in the savings on energy bills—after which the school district keeps all the savings.

Earlier this year, we marked the completion of the first project under Power to Schools—at the Albany School District’s offices, which happen to be housed in a historic building that’s more than 190 years old.

We replaced the previous inefficient steam boiler plant with two new boilers, increasing average seasonal efficiency by about 30 percent.  And we provided a new temperature control system, with night setback capability, that promises to significantly reduce the energy waste that had occurred on winter nights and weekends.

This work, along with a pending project at the high school, should save the Albany School District about $131,000 a year.

We anticipate annual savings of about $520,000 for the Williamsville Central School District in Erie County, where we’re planning an $8.7 million project that will cover all 13 of the district’s educational facilities.  The work will range from lighting upgrades to replacement of boilers and installation of air-quality measures and an energy management system.

Elsewhere, we’re joining with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and three of our municipal system customers to install solar photovoltaic projects at schools in the systems’ service territories.

One of the units is planned nearby for the Solvay Middle School, where it will supply a small part of the school’s electricity.  Equally important, it will be a terrific educational tool for students and the community.

These are the types of projects available under Power to Schools that can help a district meet or exceed the state’s Collaborative High Performance Schools guidelines and maybe move toward LEED certification.

The Power Authority is conducting a series of informational forums on Power to Schools, and we hope you’ll be able to attend the one in Central New York, which is planned for April 25 at the Holiday Inn in Auburn.  In any case, we’ll be happy to discuss the program with you at your convenience and—if you wish—to arrange an energy audit of your facilities.

My goal is to make the Power Authority the cleanest and greenest electric utility in the United States. And—beyond even that—I believe that we, as a government entity, must show the way in helping others to pursue their own green initiatives and in creating a robust market for green technologies and products.

I can think of no more appropriate partners in this endeavor than the state’s schools.  We look forward to helping you assure a green and sustainable future for the children you now serve and for those who will follow.