New York Power Authority Ranked
Among the Nation's Cleanest Power Producers
Contact:
Michael Saltzman
914-390-8181
michael.saltzman@nypa.gov
April 10, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHITE PLAINS—The New York Power Authority (NYPA)
ranks among the cleanest utilities in the country, according to a
comparative analysis of the emission rates of the nation’s 100
largest electricity producers.
The report measured 2004 data submitted by the
power companies to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the
Energy Information Administration for their nearly 2,000 power
plants. A national coalition known as Ceres, which consists of
environmental and investor groups and others, scored the utilities
on the basis of their emissions and generating output.
According to the report, NYPA’s generating output
makes it the 40th largest electric power producer in the country.
Yet, its total emissions and emission rates place it among the
nation’s cleanest large utilities. Its environmental record reflects
a diversified energy mix, deployment of advanced pollution controls,
and use of the lowest-emission fossil fuels.
“Under the leadership of Governor George Pataki,
NYPA has significantly invested in modernizing its major hydropower
projects, which produce emission-free renewable power, and installed
the latest pollution controls for the remaining portion of our
electrical generation,” said Timothy S. Carey, NYPA president and
chief executive officer. “We’re proud to be rated among the top 10
percent of the very cleanest power producers in the nation.”
Carey noted, for example, that the Power Authority
spent some $55 million on the most advanced pollution-control
technologies for the six small, clean natural gas-fueled power
plants it installed in 2001 in New York City and one on Long Island
for meeting a forecasted shortfall in generating capacity for the
summer peak-demand season. Those units, which combine for about 450
megawatts of power, also emit virtually no sulfur dioxide (SO2), a
gas linked to acid rain, and included in the Ceres report.
NYPA further added to its clean generating capacity
in December by placing into commercial operation a new 500-megawatt,
natural gas-fueled plant in Queens. The plant’s superior efficiency
and state-of-the-art emission controls make it among the cleanest,
large power plants in New York City.
“There is no mistaking the huge importance that
NYPA has placed on clean power generation for meeting the
electricity needs of its customers, and the Ceres study supports
this,” Carey said. “We’re also making a difference for the
environment in ways not reflected by this report, such as
energy-efficiency projects that have reduced greenhouse gas
emissions throughout the state by 730,000 tons a year through
lowered electricity use at more than 2,300 public schools and
government buildings.”
Carey noted that NYPA’s investment of up to $100
million a year in energy-efficiency and clean energy projects, such
as fuel cells and solar power, help carry out the pioneering policy
goals set by Governor Pataki. They include the Renewable Portfolio
Standard requiring renewables to account for 25 percent of all the
electricity consumed in New York State by 2013 and Executive Order
111, which established new energy conservation and clean energy
standards for state office buildings.
The Ceres report (www.ceres.org) focused on
utilities generating 88 percent of the nation’s electricity. It
found that overall emissions of SO2 and nitrogen oxide fell by 44
percent and 36 percent, respectively, for the largest power
producers, between 1990 and 2004, stemming from Clean Air Act
amendments. Conversely, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) rose 27
percent over the same 14-year period for the collective group,
according to the Ceres analysis.
Last December, Governor Pataki announced a historic
regional agreement for reduction of CO2 emissions from power plants,
centering on a mandatory cap-and-trade program, to help the
Northeast states lead the nation in addressing concerns about global
climate change.
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 plants in
various parts of the state and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of
transmission lines.
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