NYPA Trustees Award Contract to Ferguson Electric for Work on Life Extension and Modernization Project at Lewiston Facility
Contact:
Paul DeMichele
(914) 390-8186
paul.demichele@nypa.gov
August 1, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHITE PLAINS—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) trustees on Tuesday approved a two-year, $5.6 million contract award to Ferguson Electric of Buffalo to assist in the Life Extension and Modernization (LEM) program at the Niagara Power Project’s Lewiston Pump-Generating Plant (LPGP). The LEM is designed to refurbish and modernize the facility, enhancing the pumped-storage project’s performance and extending its working life decades into the future.
The new contract will allow Ferguson to proceed with some of the wiring for various electrical components and other work at the LPGP site, including the installation of static exciters, generator circuit breakers, cable and pump-turbine unit instrumentation.
“The Power Authority is forging ahead on the refurbishment of its Lewiston Pump-Generating Plant, which operates as the hydroelectric project’s auxiliary facility, supplementing the substantial output of the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant,” said Harry Francois, NYPA regional manager, Western New York. “Ferguson Electric has already been tasked with assisting NYPA in the upgrade of the facility, so its familiarity and professional expertise will only help to ease the process as we move along.”
“Investing in our region’s infrastructure is of utmost importance,” said Senator Timothy M. Kennedy. “The Life Extension and Modernization Program underway by NYPA will ensure that the Niagara Power Project will be able to produce low-cost hydropower for Western New York for generations to come. We’re thrilled a local firm will be taking up this important work, ensuring Western New York maintains access to low-cost power, a critical asset in efforts to boost job creation and economic development.”
“The work that the Power Authority is undertaking at their Niagara project’s auxiliary facility—the Lewiston Pump Generating Plant—will maximize the electricity output from the water harnessed by the project to ensure that this clean generating facility continues to provide reliable service for decades ahead,” said Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes. “NYPA’s work on these upgrades acts as an investment in the future of Western New York.”
The trustees’ action marks the second time this year that NYPA has contracted with Ferguson Electric for work on the LPGP. In June, the board approved a nearly $1.6 million contract award to the Buffalo firm for the design, manufacture, delivery and installation of electrical equipment and related components scheduled to be delivered later this year. In addition, the NYPA trustees approved a nearly $4 million contract to Ferguson Electric in March 2011 for the installation of the new generator step-up transformers, also in support of the Lewiston Pump-Generating Plant LEM.
In June 2010, the NYPA trustees approved the investment of $460 million for the 10-year LEM program, which will include major upgrades to all 12 pump-turbines and the replacement of generator step-up transformers. The transformers date back to 1961 when the Niagara project went into service. Today’s contract award to Ferguson is part of the trustees’ overall expenditure authorization from 2010.
The upgrades of the pump-turbine units will start in December and the unit work will occur under a schedule providing for the overhaul of a pump-turbine every eight to nine months, with the final unit completed in 2020. The phased-in schedule provides for 11 of the 12 LPGP units to be available for operation during the LEM so that NYPA can meet its commitments to its power-supply customers.
Pumped-storage facilities like the LPGP store water as potential energy during off-peak hours for later use when demand is higher. The principal benefits are retiming of generation and providing the ability to quickly respond to changes in customer demand.
In 2006, NYPA completed a $24 million maintenance program at LPGP in the same year that it finished a $298 million, 15-year program to upgrade the Niagara project’s Robert Moses plant, where the Power Authority replaced turbines and retrofitted other components of all 13 generating units.
Together, LPGP and the Moses plant combine for a net dependable capability of 2,441 mw, making the Niagara project the largest generating facility in the state and one of the largest in the country.
LPGP is one of two major pumped storage facilities in New York State—the other being the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project, another NYPA facility. In May 2010, the Authority completed a four-year overhaul of that facility, in the northern Catskills.
About NYPA
NYPA is the nation's largest state public power organization, through the operation of its 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. 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. More than 70 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. Follow @NYPAenergy on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WordPress, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
|
|
|
ALBANY—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) today announced the start of construction on a $648,000 energy efficiency project at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus and the completion of a $1.3 million energy efficiency upgrade at the Sheridan Avenue steam plant, which serves the Empire State Plaza. The two Albany projects will save taxpayers an estimated $220,000 in annual energy costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 781 tons a year.
These projects support Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s ambitious “Build Smart NY” initiative to increase energy efficiency in state buildings by 20 percent over the next seven years by strategically accelerating priority improvements in energy performance. The initiative will save taxpayers millions of dollars and create thousands of jobs.
“The Build Smart NY program recognizes the value of energy-saving technologies for managing taxpayer dollars, spurring job development and lessening climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions,” Governor Cuomo said. “Investment in energy efficiency is part of a proactive approach for meeting future electricity needs and taking steps to improve fiscal, economic and environmental conditions. All of this will be furthered by our Build Smart NY initiative and its priority of getting the most value from energy efficiency investments through dollars well-spent.”
Harriman State Office Building Campus, located on 330 acres in western Albany, will have new energy efficiency upgrades installed at the state government office buildings. The upgrades will include new fluorescent high-bay lighting and premium efficiency motors for pumps and fans. Upon completion by year’s end, these improvements will lower electricity usage at the Harriman office buildings by nearly 422,000 kilowatt-hours per year.
The Empire State Plaza, located on 98 acres in downtown Albany, houses cultural spaces, restaurants, and administrative offices. The Power Authority’s installation of a micro-steam turbine, completed in January, will reduce the electricity requirements of the Sheridan Avenue plant. The turbine was manufactured by Dresser-Rand in Wellsville, Allegany County.
“The Power Authority continues to make significant progress fulfilling the goals of Governor Cuomo’s Build Smart NY plan,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and chief executive officer. “The Harriman State Office Building Campus and Empire State Plaza projects are just two of the many projects that NYPA will undertake in 2013 to decrease demand on the state’s power grid and greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Governor Cuomo has raised the bar for improving the energy efficiency of the thousands of New York State government facilities, with the goal of reducing energy consumption by 20 percent by the year 2020,” said RoAnn M. Destito, OGS commissioner. “OGS and the Power Authority—two key state entities for underpinning the state’s energy efficiency—are making great strides toward achieving this goal. The newly started energy-saving initiative at the Harriman Building campus and the recently completed upgrade at the Sheridan Avenue plant are the most recent examples and forerunners of numerous other similar projects to come under the Governor’s Build Smart NY plan.”
NYPA and OGS have partnered on $89 million in energy efficiency projects at 63 facilities, saving taxpayers more than $7.9 million and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 57,875 tons annually. The Power Authority and OGS are currently reviewing 15 projects for consideration in 2013 and beyond, in support of Build Smart NY, with five projects currently underway.
Build Smart NY will prioritize the use of state building energy data to prioritize projects that will deliver the greatest energy savings per dollar spent. The largest and most inefficient buildings will be addressed first and undergo comprehensive whole-building improvements. The program will also ensure that cost-effective improvements for energy savings are considered in all the state’s capital project planning.
In addition to its energy savings goals, Build Smart NY supports Governor Cuomo’s larger NY Works program and economic development agenda, which coordinate state funding to accelerate projects that will create jobs and improve the state’s infrastructure. NY Works is designed to expedite select projects with maximum economic impact, allowing them to begin as soon as possible and reduce project costs by hundreds of millions of dollars.
A Build Smart NY web platform was launched that posts progress reports, case studies, energy savings, project costs, and other information to the public, providing greater accountability and transparency on government spending and performance. For more information on this initiative, visitwww.buildsmart.ny.gov.
Over the next four years, the Power Authority will finance an additional $800 million in support of Build Smart goals and similar improvements at county and local government buildings across the state.
NYPA recovers its costs by sharing in the resulting electric bill savings with the public facilities. Once fully recovered over several years’ time, the beneficiary keeps all of the savings, freeing up money for their essential services. |
|
|
|
ALBANY—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) today announced the start of construction on a $648,000 energy efficiency project at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus and the completion of a $1.3 million energy efficiency upgrade at the Sheridan Avenue steam plant, which serves the Empire State Plaza. The two Albany projects will save taxpayers an estimated $220,000 in annual energy costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 781 tons a year.
These projects support Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s ambitious “Build Smart NY” initiative to increase energy efficiency in state buildings by 20 percent over the next seven years by strategically accelerating priority improvements in energy performance. The initiative will save taxpayers millions of dollars and create thousands of jobs.
“The Build Smart NY program recognizes the value of energy-saving technologies for managing taxpayer dollars, spurring job development and lessening climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions,” Governor Cuomo said. “Investment in energy efficiency is part of a proactive approach for meeting future electricity needs and taking steps to improve fiscal, economic and environmental conditions. All of this will be furthered by our Build Smart NY initiative and its priority of getting the most value from energy efficiency investments through dollars well-spent.”
Harriman State Office Building Campus, located on 330 acres in western Albany, will have new energy efficiency upgrades installed at the state government office buildings. The upgrades will include new fluorescent high-bay lighting and premium efficiency motors for pumps and fans. Upon completion by year’s end, these improvements will lower electricity usage at the Harriman office buildings by nearly 422,000 kilowatt-hours per year.
The Empire State Plaza, located on 98 acres in downtown Albany, houses cultural spaces, restaurants, and administrative offices. The Power Authority’s installation of a micro-steam turbine, completed in January, will reduce the electricity requirements of the Sheridan Avenue plant. The turbine was manufactured by Dresser-Rand in Wellsville, Allegany County.
“The Power Authority continues to make significant progress fulfilling the goals of Governor Cuomo’s Build Smart NY plan,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and chief executive officer. “The Harriman State Office Building Campus and Empire State Plaza projects are just two of the many projects that NYPA will undertake in 2013 to decrease demand on the state’s power grid and greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Governor Cuomo has raised the bar for improving the energy efficiency of the thousands of New York State government facilities, with the goal of reducing energy consumption by 20 percent by the year 2020,” said RoAnn M. Destito, OGS commissioner. “OGS and the Power Authority—two key state entities for underpinning the state’s energy efficiency—are making great strides toward achieving this goal. The newly started energy-saving initiative at the Harriman Building campus and the recently completed upgrade at the Sheridan Avenue plant are the most recent examples and forerunners of numerous other similar projects to come under the Governor’s Build Smart NY plan.”
NYPA and OGS have partnered on $89 million in energy efficiency projects at 63 facilities, saving taxpayers more than $7.9 million and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 57,875 tons annually. The Power Authority and OGS are currently reviewing 15 projects for consideration in 2013 and beyond, in support of Build Smart NY, with five projects currently underway.
Build Smart NY will prioritize the use of state building energy data to prioritize projects that will deliver the greatest energy savings per dollar spent. The largest and most inefficient buildings will be addressed first and undergo comprehensive whole-building improvements. The program will also ensure that cost-effective improvements for energy savings are considered in all the state’s capital project planning.
In addition to its energy savings goals, Build Smart NY supports Governor Cuomo’s larger NY Works program and economic development agenda, which coordinate state funding to accelerate projects that will create jobs and improve the state’s infrastructure. NY Works is designed to expedite select projects with maximum economic impact, allowing them to begin as soon as possible and reduce project costs by hundreds of millions of dollars.
A Build Smart NY web platform was launched that posts progress reports, case studies, energy savings, project costs, and other information to the public, providing greater accountability and transparency on government spending and performance. For more information on this initiative, visitwww.buildsmart.ny.gov.
Over the next four years, the Power Authority will finance an additional $800 million in support of Build Smart goals and similar improvements at county and local government buildings across the state.
NYPA recovers its costs by sharing in the resulting electric bill savings with the public facilities. Once fully recovered over several years’ time, the beneficiary keeps all of the savings, freeing up money for their essential services. |