St. Lawrence-
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Power Project

The Power Authority's history began with hydropower, and our first generating facility is the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project, located on New York's border with Canada. We began producing hydroelectricity here in 1958, the result of a cooperative effort between the U.S. and Canada. Adjacent to our project is Ontario Power Generation's Robert H. Saunders Generating Station, which shares with us a power dam that stretches across the St. Lawrence River the length of 10 football fields.

The Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Power Dam has 32 turbine-generators, divided equally by the international border and operated independently by each utility. The Power Authority's 16 generating units can produce more than 900,000 kilowatts of electricity, more than enough to light a city the size of Washington, D.C., which has a population of 607,000!

In 1997, the Power Authority began a $281-million Life Extension and Modernization program at its St. Lawrence-FDR project. Besides replacing all 16 turbines, workers are rebuilding or renovating the rest of the power dam’s generating equipment, with a scheduled completion date of 2013.

Here's how it works:
The St. Lawrence River carries the outflow of all five of the Great Lakes, the world's largest source of fresh water, to the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, river water pours into the power dam's intakes and falls about 80 feet into the spiral-shaped scroll case encircling each turbine. As this rushing water turns a turbine, an attached rotor spins inside a stator, a ring of tightly bound copper wires in a generator, creating an electric current.

Hydroelectricity is safe, clean, reliable and inexpensive. The economic benefits of St. Lawrence-FDR are far-reaching. More than half of the project's output supplies local industries that employ several thousand of New York's North Country residents.

Our entire power project stretches over the St. Lawrence River Valley for 37 miles, within the Towns of Waddington, Louisville and Massena. Besides the main power plant, it includes two control structures upstream: the Iroquois and Long Sault dams. And we've built thousands of acres of parkland along the river for recreational enjoyment and wildlife preservation. In 2005, we opened a new power project visitors center at nearby Hawkins Point, where interactive exhibits and panoramic views show how St. Lawrence-FDR converts rushing water into clean, reliable hydroelectricity.

The 50-year federal license that allowed the Power Authority to build and operate the St. Lawrence-FDR project expired in 2003. A relicensing process, aimed at securing federal and state approvals to continue project operation, was completed, and a new license was issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on October 23, 2003.

News:

October 16, 2008 - Dock and Buoy Removal Scheduled to Begin Oct. 20

June 24, 2008 -  N.Y. Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation Mark 50 Years of Power Production at St. Lawrence Project

June 18, 2008 - Free Ice Cream and Fireworks to Highlight Community Celebration for 50th Anniversary of NYPA's St. Lawrence Project

June 17, 2008 - NYPA Planning June 24 Festivities to Mark 50 Years of Power Production at St. Lawrence-FDR Project

March 26, 2008 - NYPA Trustees Approve Program For Funding Municipal Projects From Sale of Surplus St. Lawrence-FDR Properties

March 20, 2008 - Grants Approved From NYPA Fund for Environmental Education and Research Projects Involving St. Lawrence River Watershed

February 13, 2008 - Agreements Reached with Northern New York Communities for Operation and Maintenance of Municipal Recreational Facilities Near St. Lawrence-FDR Project

February 8, 2008 - NYPA President Kelley Hails Agreement with Alcoa

January 29, 2008 - NYPA Trustees Approve Agreement in Principle With Alcoa Toward Hydropower Contract and Preservation of Jobs and Capital Investment in North Country

December 21, 2007 - Governor Spitzer Announces Hydropower Deal Between State and Alcoa, Inc. (Governor's press release) (NYPA President and CEO Roger B. Kelley's remarks)

December 5, 2007 - NYPA Continues Progress in Transferring Ownership of Surplus St. Lawrence-FDR Project Lands

November 27, 2007 - Power Authority to Make Annual Payment of $2 Million to Local Entities

November 19, 2007 - Successful Start to Second Half of Life Extension and Modernization Initiative at St. Lawrence-FDR Project

Learn more about the St. Lawrence River Research and Education Fund

September 20, 2007 - Funds Introduced to Keep St. Lawrence River Knowledge Flowing

August 30, 2007 - NYPA and DEC Provide Expanded Opportunities to Hunt Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area: Area to be Open for Hunting Access All Weekends During Waterfowl Seasons (DEC and NYPA press release)

April 24. 2007  -Town of Massena Electric Department to Receive Additional Low-Cost Power for New Wood Pellet Manufacturing Facility and 23 New Jobs

April 18, 2007 - Wilson Hill Boat Launch to Reopen May 18

April 11, 2007 - NYPA Transfers Significant Amount of Acreage to Waddington as Part of Relicensing Settlement

Highlights:

Learn more about the International Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Study and public meetings that have been held in the North Country this summer and fall.

Read River News, our community newsletter covering NYPA activities in the region near our plant.