WHITE PLAINS: NYPA Names New General Counsel—Terryl Brown Clemons has been named executive vice president and general counsel for the Power Authority. Ms. Brown Clemons had served as the acting counsel and previously as the first assistant counsel to both Gov. David Paterson and former Gov. Eliot Spitzer. In these positions she provided advice and counsel to the governor and other high-level government officials; managed the Executive Chamber’s legal staff; and drafted, reviewed and negotiated the governor’s legislative and budget proposals. Prior to that Ms. Brown Clemons served in the State Attorney General’s Office, supervising 160 attorneys and 220 other employees in nine bureaus. 

WILLIAMSVILLE: Energy Efficiency Project Slated for Williamsville Schools—The Power Authority will participate in an $8.6 million energy efficiency and clean energy project in the Williamsville Central School District that will result in major savings in electricity and fuel costs for the district’s elementary, middle and high schools. The project will reduce the school district’s energy costs by nearly $500,000 a year with upgraded lighting, new heating, ventilating and air-conditioning equipment and other energy efficiency measures. The project will also include the demonstration of a solar photovoltaic electric generating system. NYPA President and CEO Richard Kessel said Gov. David Paterson “has underscored the imperative of increased investment in energy efficiency and clean energy initiatives,” adding the need is especially pronounced in the current fiscal climate when taxpayer-supported public facilities will have to do more with less.  

WHITE PLAINS: Dutchess County Resident Named Woman Leader—NYPA’s deputy treasurer has been selected as the Power Authority’s 2008 Woman Leader. Lisa Cole, a resident of Wappingers Falls, was honored Nov. 17 at the 35th Annual Academy of Women Leaders Salute Lunch, sponsored by the YWCA of the City of New York and held at the Hilton New York Hotel. Cole is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Power Authority’s treasury group, managing billions of dollars in cash flow, outstanding debt and investments. Cole began her NYPA career in 1989 as a clerk in the Power Authority’s former nuclear division, and later transferred to the finance group in White Plains. Working as a treasury analyst, Cole rose rapidly through positions of increasing responsibility to her current position.  

LEWISTON: Project Protects Fish in Niagara River—The Power Authority has created four artificial reefs to enhance the aquatic environment of the Upper Niagara River. This Habitat Improvement Project (HIP) is one of a series of measures to benefit fish and other wildlife as part of the new 50-year license issued by federal regulators for NYPA’s Niagara Power Project last year. The fish attraction structures—made of rocks, logs and boulders—were placed at four locations between the Grand Island and Tonawanda shorelines earlier this fall. Four different designs will be monitored to see which ones work best for a variety of species, including muskellunge, northern pike, walleye and large- and small-mouth bass. The underwater structures will provide places for fish to safely rest and forage, and are expected to result in increased fish populations, which will benefit local anglers. In fact, area sporting organizations and other stakeholder groups helped NYPA identify and prioritize HIP opportunities along the Niagara River.  

HERE AND THERE: Electric Vehicles Delivered to 3 Communities—Electric vehicles have been delivered to three communities around New York State as part of Power Authority electric transportation programs designed to substitute environmentally clean electric vehicles for conventional vehicles. Niagara Falls received two four-passenger electric vehicles to be used by police for patrolling and parking enforcement. The Village of Larchmont received an electric vehicle that will be powered through a solar panel that will generate electricity to run the vehicle. Both initiatives are under NYPA’s Green Zones Program. And the Village of Sherburne received a Prius hybrid-electric vehicle as part of a NYPA agreement with its municipal electric and rural cooperative customers.  

WHITE PLAINS: NYPA Requests Solar Power Information—The Power Authority has issued a formal Request for Information (RFI) in connection with its plans to purchase solar power on behalf of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its operating agencies. NYPA intends to seek 6 megawatts (mw) of solar power from the installation of solar photovoltaic panels on the roofs of MTA facilities. Plans call for 2 mw to be added in each of the next three years. NYPA will purchase the power for resale to the MTA, with the solar equipment owned and operated by the solar power providers. Power suppliers who may be interested in bidding on the solar power initiative can download the RFI from the Power Authority website at http://www.nypa.gov/doingbusiness/ Responses are due on Dec. 12.