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Video Transcript
Video transcript of MTA LI Bus and NYPA press conference marking the Installation of the First Sodium Sulfur Battery Energy Storage System in New York State, Garden City, N.Y.
January 9, 2009
Good morning to you all. I am Lee Sander, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the MTA. The virtually silent, visually non-descript box that we are celebrating today may not look like anything special, although, I thought it looked pretty interesting when Joe pointed it out to me. But it saves the MTA more than 265 thousand dollars per year in energy and labor costs. The MTA faces its most challenging financial outlook, since the 1970s. In fact, we can argue that its even worst than the 1970s but that enough is a very challenging comparison. We are leaving no stone unturned in our search for ways to reduce our expenses.
One exciting way we are doing this is by identifying testing when possible, incorporating new technologies into our operations. Long Island Bus Sodium Sulfur Energy Storage System is so cutting edge that, excluding uses within utility companies, Mitchell Field Depot is the first place in the country where the system has been put to use but even as we continually search for ways to improve our operations we must always be prudent and step carefully when it comes to new technology. MTA has had a history in terms of being on the cutting edge and trying to avoid being on the bleeding edge.
The MTA’s bus fleet that operates throughout Nassau County, New York City, and into Bayonne and Yonkers moves more than two million people each day, making it one of the largest and busiest fleets in the world. Long Island Bus moves nearly one hundred and ten thousand people per day. Most of them with two hundred and twenty compressed natural gas buses that run through this depot. Long Island Bus has a proud history of being on the cutting edge in terms of bus technology. When you have an operation that so many people depend upon each day, you need to strive to ensure that each component of the system functions flawlessly. That’s why I am delighted to announce that the nearly three-year long trial of this energy storage system, conducted under real tough, real world conditions, has proved exceptionally successful. It is now officially entering permanent full-time use, powering the compressors that fuel buses with natural gas.
This trial was the result of our strong partnership with the New York Power Authority, NYSERDA, and the Long Island Power Authority, all of which contributed significant resources. I want to thank Richard Kessel, President and CEO of NYPA; this is the second time in two days that I am mentioning Richie and NYPA. Some of you may know he was in The New York Times, Today, the Post and New York One’s significant coverage on the release of our sustained biliary report that we did in Washington with extensive participation from our congressional delegation. And in there he made reference to our conversations in terms of the potential of wind power, and what we want to try to do together, so two in two days. For more on how this energy storage system helps our bus fleet run we hear from Joseph Smith, who oversees Long Island Bus, New York Transit Bus and MTA Bus, but first my very good friend and most importantly my partner, Richie Kessel. He needs no introduction. He is the President and CEO of NYPA.
Thank you Lee. Lee and I know each other for quite some time, and in some other lives, and things that we’ve done in the past, but it’s great to be partnering with the MTA, and Long Island Bus and the TA Long Island Bus now and my old agency LIPA. It seems some of the media doesn’t understand that I’m not at LIPA anymore. I get more coverage at LIPA today than I do at NYPA, but that’s cool, and I also really appreciate having Todd Stebbins here from LIPA because LIPA was a part of this project and I want to commend Kevin Law who’s shown great leadership at LIPA, and I’m very glad to have him as part of this collaboration. The best system, which is a battery energy system, is an extraordinary technology, and it’s no coincidence that just two days ago in his State of the State address Governor Paterson emphasized renewable energy, and new battery technologies, and I think we are thrilled at NYPA at the Governor’s goals of achieving a significant amount of our energy, 45% from energy efficiency and renewables by the year 2015.
This is an extraordinary goal that we can meet, and we can meet it in big ways, and we can meet it in smaller ways. This is one of the steps that we need to adopt to get to the point were we can utilize renewables and clean energy, and energy efficiency to save money. Not just on the energy side of the business, but on the cost side of the business, and I’m gonna let Joe describe how that impacts Long Island Bus, and I want to note I love being on Long Island when I see all of my friends from the media that I worked with for so many years and it really is great doing things here where I live, but it’s really a great thing going Long Island Bus. I remember this used to be called MSBA. Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority that’s how far back I go. And I note that this bus not only has this battery technology, but it’s also the first Joe, right?...of the new fleet of buses natural gas powered that is part of this new consolidation with the Long Island Bus the other bus systems in the MTA region. That’s something that is ultimately also going to save a lot of money, and I have to commend Lee, and Joe, and the MTA for that kind of thinking. It’s the kind of thing consolidating where that makes a great deal of sense, and this is the first bus that has it.
The battery system is an extraordinary system, because it basically allows Long Island Bus to power the buses, and refuel them during the day as apposed to evening when power is less costly, and also to power the buses around the clock, and seven days a week, and by not having to do certain things during peak periods during the day, and being able to do them during the night, but doing them through this battery system enables them to reduce the third shift that would be necessary at night to fuel the buses, and so the saving that we talked about over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year come not only from the energy savings by using cheaper electricity because it’s cheaper during off peak periods, but there are labor savings, significant labor savings by utilizing this system. This is the kind of technology that’s clean, it’s emission free, it’s noise free, and it’s a collaborative effort. I think, it’s important to note, and what I was most fascinated in Lee, and then, I’ll turn it over to Joe, is that it wasn’t just NYPA, and the MTA, and the Long Island Bus, and LIPA, but it’s an international collaborative effort, and a whole group of partners that are in the press release, and I want to thank all of the partners up here and in the audience for their participation. I note, with interest Sharon, I want to thank Sharon Laudisi, and my whole NYPA staff for their great work here, and putting this together.
It’s interesting to know that one the participants is Hydro-Quebec. A company that we are very interested in, and are talking with now about a potential for major new hydro resources that we could utilize here to lower the cost of energy in New York throughout New York State, and when you can pull companies together from throughout the area, Con Edison is another example. I met with Kevin Burke a few weeks ago, and to be able to collaborate with one of the largest utilities in the nation, to put this out there, and this is my understanding on the customer side, the first of its kind used in the country. I think, on the other side, it’s the second, that’s an extraordinary achievement. So this is what the future is all about. It’s about being more energy-efficient, and saving money, and in this economy every dollar counts, so on behalf of Governor Paterson, and the New York Power Authority we’re thrilled to be here today in this partnership with our friends at the MTA, Long Island Bus, and our other twenty partners in doing something that I think has the potential to make major changes in the transportation system in this country. And with that I’m going to introduce my friend from Long Island Bus, and by the way I told Joe that I knew his predecessor Neil Yellin, and Chief of operations one of my dear friends Frank Ryan, so I’m very familiar with this company. They’re doing a great job, and Joe it’s all yours.
Thank you Richard, thank you Lee. I’d like to start by introducing myself. My name is Joe Smith. I’m the President of the Long Island Bus, MTA Bus, and the Senior Vice President for New York City Transit. What this has done for us is first of all, it’s an absolute fabulous effort by everyone here to not only serve Nassau County, and reduce our energy usage, but to also provide a more reliable bus system for the general area. Standing behind us is the first low floor hybrid CNG bus that has been introduced for the Long Island Bus. We expect a fleet of at least sixty of them rolling out of here over the next several months, but we’re here to talk about the Battery Energy Source System outside, and what I have to tell you is, I’ve been with the MTA for thirty two years, and NYPA has to be one of the best companies when it comes to working with the MTA to save money, because NYPA has touched, we have twenty nine depots, and NYPA has touched basically every single one of those depots in regards to energy conservation, putting in new lighting, having more efficient air compressors, better heating units, everything that we can do to reduce energy together, and it’s absolutely been a great partnership with Rich, and, so I just want to thank you …..would you say that again! It’s been a great partnership absolutely.
What the Energy Storage System outside does for us is it allows us to fuel during the day when it’s not at peak demand. It allows us to fuel, we have a fleet of CNG buses here, and we use electric compressors to compress the gas. It’s a CNG bus it requires a lot of pressure to fuel the buses at night. So what we do is we fuel them during the day, when it’s a low demand, we use the Bus Energy Storage System, and it charges during the day. Off peak periods it charges, and allows us to fuel the buses when it’s more efficient basically to do. It’s a great system. It’s the cutting edge like the bus behind me. It’s the cutting edge, and what it does is it cleans the air for everyone here. So Long Island Bus has one of the largest CNG fleets and it’s all CNG is fact, but MTA bus with hybrids, has the largest hybrid fleet in the world. Now you’re going to see some of this coming to Long Island Bus, so all together we’re providing cleaner air for Nassau County. We’re providing a better service for our customers. Anyway, I would like to thank everybody for coming today, and we’ll answer some questions on the Battery Storage System. We’ll also give people a tour afterwards. Thank you very much.
So before we conclude I also of course want to introduce the people, our partners who have made this happen, so we have Joe Sayer from NYSERDA, Georgina Peak from the Sandia National Lab and the Department of Energy, and Pat Dugan from Con Ed.
So again we want to put this in the context as of many of you know, many of you know are working very hard up in Albany and Washington to deal with the MTA’s financial crisis, so this is great in terms of getting, making the point of how the MTA is working hard with its partners to save money.
I also want to take the time out to acknowledge Joe who’s taken the leadership position in consolidating the bus operations of New York City Transit, MTA Bus and Long Island Bus reducing managerial administrative expenses by 10% in Long Island Bus roughly the same amount in the other properties saving millions of dollars. We have a very aggressive savings they’ve accomplished in the last several years, and a very aggressive savings that we’ve now committed to get done this year that’s even if we get the money from Albany. But what we need to do from our own end to live up to our commitment to Albany, and Washington is to be efficient, and so I wanted to acknowledge all of your leadership, and your staff in terms of managing as frugally and as efficiently as we can, again I want to thank you all.