NEWS
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NYPA President Cites Commitment to Adirondack Environment Contact: May 23, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUPPER LAKE—New York Power Authority (NYPA) President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy S. Carey said Wednesday that the Power Authority’s diverse activities in the Adirondack Park can “help show the way to a sustainable future worthy of the respect and concern for the environment that is embedded in our history and in our heritage.” “The Power Authority wants to demonstrate that energy and environmental and societal needs can be met in concert,” Carey said in a speech at the Adirondack Research Consortium’s 14th annual conference at the Wild Center. “We are committed to continuing a partnership with you in this worthy and essential endeavor.” Carey said the effort now under way to help resolve longstanding power reliability problems in the Tri-Lakes region “provides a case study in how to meet the energy needs of modern society while accounting for the special environmental requirements of a uniquely beautiful and sensitive area.” He said the Tri-Lakes Reliability Project, being carried out by NYPA, National Grid and the villages of Tupper Lake and Lake Placid, calls for building a new 46-kilovolt power line in environmentally compatible fashion and also emphasizes energy efficiency and clean on-site power sources. Carey said that as part of the project, the Power Authority will install a total of about 215 energy efficient refrigerators in public housing apartments in Tupper Lake and Lake Placid. (Some 400 efficient refrigerators are scheduled for installation in public housing units in Plattsburgh, another NYPA municipal system customer.) Also under the Tri-Lakes project, Carey said NYPA has:
Carey said “environmental concerns were paramount” as NYPA and National Grid assessed potential routes for the new power line, scheduled for completion by the winter of 2008-09. “We examined a host of factors, ranging from wetlands, rivers and streams to wildlife habitats, fisheries and soils,” he said. “We considered comments from local officials and residents.” This process resulted in designation of a route from Stark Reservoir to Piercefield, where the new line will link with an existing line to Tupper Lake. The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) approved this route, including a six-mile bypass of the state Forest Preserve, in March 2006. Because local officials and environmental groups have since expressed interest in a route passing through the Preserve, Carey said that option is under consideration. Its use would require an amendment to the state Constitution, which is now being pursued. In Adirondack Park initiatives separate from the Tri-Lakes project, Carey said the Power Authority is carrying out a $5.7 million energy efficiency project at Whiteface and Gore mountains and helped coordinate the recent installation of a solar energy unit at Lake Placid High School. Elsewhere, NYPA is involved in energy efficiency projects at such locations as the APA headquarters in Ray Brook, the town hall and garage in Harrietstown, all county buildings in Franklin County, the Saranac Lake train station and Essex County Board of Cooperative Educational Services facilities. About NYPA: ■ NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. ■ NYPA is a leader in promoting energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric transportation initiatives. ■ It is the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. |
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