Niagara Power Project

The Niagara Power Project: Clean Energy for NY

It’s New York State’s biggest electricity producer, providing up to 2.6 million kilowatts of clean electricity. That clean energy is generated by two facilities, the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant and the Lewiston Pump Generating Plant, with a combined 25 turbines spun by 748,000 gallons of water per second. NYPA sells the power to state facilities, municipal and rural electric coops, and large utilities. Located in Lewiston, NY, 4.5 miles downstream from Niagara Falls, the Niagara Power Project uses a gated tunnel under the City of Niagara to divert water from the Niagara River into two reservoirs. Releasing water from the reservoirs creates the power. The overall facility includes two intake structures, two underground conduits and associated pump stations, a forebay, the Lewiston Reservoir, the Lewiston Pump Generating Plant, the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant, and the Niagara Switchyard. When the Niagara plant produced its first power in 1961, it was the largest hydropower facility in the Western world. NYPA investment and engineers keep it cutting-edge, efficient, and, as President John F. Kennedy called it, "an example to the world of North American efficiency and determination."

The Opening of the Niagara Power Project

President John F. Kennedy recognized the launch of the Niagara Power Project in 1961.

Scene of officials and a large diagram at the opening of the Niagara Power Project

The Opening of the Niagara Power Project

Niagara Power Project

Lewiston, NY