NYPA
Selects Proposals for Wind Power Purchases to Help Support Two Projects
Upstate
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Michael Saltzman
914-390-8181
michael.saltzman@nypa.gov
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June 24, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HOLTSVILLE—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has
selected proposals from two wind power developers for purchase of up to
50 megawatts (mw) of electricity from projects to be built in Western
New York and the Finger Lakes region, as part of the state’s efforts
under Governor George E. Pataki to promote environmentally clean power,
a more diversified mix of electric-generating facilities and reduced
dependence on foreign oil.
The NYPA Trustees, meeting at the Richard M. Flynn
Power Plant here Tuesday, authorized Power Authority staff to proceed
with final negotiations and execution of agreements with Chautauqua
Windpower, LLC, and Windfarm Prattsburgh, LLC, for them to provide wind
energy for the 10-year period beginning Jan. 1, 2005.
“Wind energy potential in various parts of New York
State, combined with continued improvements in the technology, support
development of this renewable source of power,” said Louis P. Ciminelli,
NYPA chairman. “The benefits go well beyond improved air quality and
energy security, since new wind turbine generators also mean more
construction jobs and increased revenues for landowners, businesses and
local governments.”
In his 2003 State of the State Address, Governor
Pataki proposed that New York State establish standards to ensure that
at least 25 percent of the electricity purchased in the state by 2013 is
generated from renewable resources such as wind power. He cited the goal
of making New York one of the leading states in the country in
generating “green power.”
The Power Authority’s purchase of 50 mw would be
divided between Chautauqua Windpower and Windfarm Prattsburgh, with the
total amount no more than half of the rated output of the wind power
projects involved. The remainder would be sold by the two developers to
private-sector customers.
The trustees’ action follows NYPA staff’s
competitive review of bids by nine companies, submitted in response to
the Authority’s Request for Proposals (RFPs) last December for the wind
power.
Various criteria entered into the selection of the
two winning bidders. They included cost of power; economic benefits to
local areas from new wind projects, e.g., additional jobs; demonstrated
financial and technical ability to advance proposed projects; and
environmental license considerations.
Chautauqua Windpower, a subsidiary of Jasper
Energy, LLC, will be installing 34 wind turbine generators on a
1,700-acre site straddling the Towns of Westfield and Ripley in
Chautauqua County, for a total generating capacity of 51 mw.
Windfarm Prattsburgh, LLC, a joint venture of UPC
Wind Partners, LLC, Global Winds Harvest, Inc., and Natsource, LLC, will
be installing up to 67 turbine generators on multiple sites, totaling
about 2,400 acres, several miles north and west of the Town of
Prattsburgh in Steuben County in the Finger Lakes region. The project
will have a total capacity of up to 100 mw.
Both Chautauqua Windpower and Windfarm Prattsburgh
will use 1-1/2-mw wind turbine generators whose variable-speed operation
is designed to capture maximum amounts of energy and convert it to
electrical power.
The two wind power projects will involve scores of
new construction jobs, with the developers leasing the land for the
turbine generators in rural areas from mostly local property owners.
Before construction can begin, environmental assessments of the
projects’ potential impacts must be completed, in accordance with the
State Environmental Quality Review Act.
“One of the attractions of wind power and other
renewable energy sources is that they keep energy dollars in the United
States, instead of sending them overseas,” said Chairman Ciminelli.
“That strengthens the economy, as well as the diversity of available
sources of power and the overall reliability of electric systems.”
“Competitive cost of power received much attention
in our competitive review of the wind power proposals,” said Eugene W.
Zeltmann, NYPA president and chief executive officer. “However, various
other factors were also considered, including timely completion of
planned generating projects, local land-use impacts and the extent of
potential economic benefits to localities and the state. We want to be
sure that the power will be available when planned and that benefits
accrue to the host communities.”
In 2002, the New York State Energy Planning Board
approved a state energy plan recommending that NYPA competitively
solicit bids for purchase of 100 mw of electric capacity from renewable
energy sources.
Governor Pataki has been steering a consistent
course toward increasing the state’s reliance on renewable energy. In
2001, he issued Executive Order No. 111 requiring state agencies to use
renewables for 10 percent of their electricity by 2005 and 20 percent by
2010.
NYPA’s wind power purchases will be part of a
portfolio of renewable power provided to its Southeastern New York
governmental customers who are subject to the requirements of the
executive order. The power may also be offered to other Authority
customers who are interested in renewable energy.
The Power Authority’s involvement with wind power
complements its various other clean energy initiatives under the
Governor’s leadership, including solar power installations, landfill gas
power projects and hydrogen-based fuel-cell generating facilities.
The Power Authority is the nation’s largest
nonfederal public power organization. Its five trustees are appointed by
the Governor and confirmed by the State Senate.
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