Wind Power Losing to Dollar Power

Governments, cautious and afraid to ask consumers to pay even a little bit more for their utilities, are canceling or delaying projects which would promote and support more environmentally friendly sources, such as wind power, for their energy supply.

One case in point is the company of Michael Polsky, called Invenergy. In 2008 his wind farm firm was so successful that banks were more than glad to lend him millions of dollars to provide electricity with clean, renewable wind energy.

This year, however, Mr. Polsky is having a difficult time selling is product. Until this year Invenergy sold electricity to Virginia. This year however, because of the recession and the lower costs of natural gas, state regulators cancelled the contract, thus trading savings for a more environmentally friendly source of power.

This is despite the fact that the increase would have been relatively small.

“The ratepayers of Virginia must be protected from costs for renewable energy that are unreasonably high,” the regulators said. Wind power would have increased the monthly bill of a typical residential customer by 0.2 percent.

NYPA Serving Residents Reliably and Innovatively

The New York Power Authority has three main mandates: to generate and transmit power for the citizens of New York State; to provide a variety of energy related services; and to stimulate economic development for New York businesses which ultimately benefit everyone.

It might not be such a well-known fact, but about 80% of all the electricity which the NYPA produces comes from the clean and renewable resource known as hydropower. Reliability of service to its customers is hovering at about 98% and the NYPA is continuing work to create even better results with large-scale improvements and upgrades to the present system.

The energy services at the NYPA help New Yorkers save. Last year there was a savings of close to $120 million and oil use was reduced by almost 2.4 million barrels helping to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by 760,000 tons.

Water Treatment Effeciency a Goal of the NYSERDA

The New York State Research and Development Authority, (NYSERDA) focuses its efforts on finding solutions for meeting the energy goals of the state. These efforts include reducing energy consumption, supporting and developing renewable sources for energy, and helping to preserve and protect our precious environment.

One such area which perhaps gets less attention than it should is the problem of water treatment and usage. Considering the fact that treating water and wastewater consumes about 3 billion kWh of electricity each and every year, it behooves us to find ways of saving a portion of this enormous electric bill. Due to the pressures of shrinking resources, ever more stringent regulatory demands, and the rising costs of creating new infrastructure there is great incentive in finding ways to lower operating costs and decrease the carbon footprint municipalities leave behind.

The NYSERDA helps municipalities throughout New York to take on innovative technologies which are already commercially available which can increase their efficiency and improve the economics of the treatment facilities which they run. Hopefully they can also meet or improve on the regulatory requirements of the state, and reduce their impact on the environment.

New York Power Authority Improving Life


The New York Power Authority, or NYPA, is the biggest state public power organization in the country. It is well-known that the NYPA produces among the cheapest electricity in all of North America. The NYPA operates 17 power generating plants and controls over 1,400 circuit miles of transmission lines.

Because the power the NYPA generates is so affordable it is therefore economically feasible to support over 400,000 jobs throughout the state of New York. They sell power to a large variety of businesses, from Fortune 100 mega-companies who must compete in the international marketplace, all the way down to small manufacturing or service companies which are the lifeblood of our local economies.

The NYPA is not satisfied with these achievements however. They are also actively involved in the promotion of energy efficiency and the development of clean energy technologies. Every year the NYPA commits $100 million to a variety of energy services, including the promotion of energy efficiency upgrades of buildings such as the Clarence D. Rappleyea building in White Plains and demonstrating the practical uses of solar photovoltaic systems which use the sun as a source for electricity. By the year 2006 the NYPA had already exceeded the remarkable figure of $1 billion in total investment in these special programs.

Con Edison Pushing for Solar Energy Development in New York

One of the most mainstream and well-recognized of New York utilities, Con Edison, has been pushing for the development of solar energy resources in New York City. In February of this year the mega-utility Con Edison filed a proposal with the PSC (Public Service Commission) of New York to back the development of 25 megawatts of solar power by the year 2015. The utility proposed that the state budget about $25 million out of its total renewable energy funds towards programs to promote the use of solar energy for residential and commercial consumers in the city.

The incentives which are being proposed will focus on smaller solar projects, such as offering cash rebates to customers dependent upon how much energy their solar panels produce. Another proposed program will help to encourage the generation of solar power in places which could benefit the electric system as a whole the most. There is also an additional program designed to stimulate the use of solar power in low-income residences in New York City.

“We believe that New York City, with its urban roof-scape, has great potential as a center for solar power and we are confident that we can use our unique knowledge of our customers to make that a reality,” said John Mucci, vice president of Engineering and Planning at Con Edison. “We’re eager to take a greater leadership role in helping the state meet its ambitious renewable energy goals.”

Solid Waste Management in New York State Saves Energy

In 1988 the New York State legislature passed the Solid Waste Management Act which was designed to help New Yorkers to save energy, reduce pollution, save on our precious resources, saving on landfill space, and even creating jobs. The long term benefits of this legislature envisioned a population conducting responsible environmental caretaking and finally creating healthier environments to grow communities.

As a result of this special legislation of 1988 New York established a Solid Waste Management Policy which prioritizes actions taken by state bodies and citizens who together will improve the environment. These priorities are as follows:

•    The reduction of the amount of solid waste which is created.
•    To reuse the material in the original way it was intended to be used, or to at least recycle the material so it can be used in some other way.
•    To try and recover in a way which is environmentally acceptable, energy from whatever solid waste that cannot be reused or recycled.
•    Disposal of solid waste which cannot be reused, recycled or from which energy cannot be recovered. This would for the most part be land burial according to the methods stipulated by the New York State Environmental Conservation Law 27-0106.1.

New York Scores Well in Energy Usage

The United States Energy Information Administration makes available to the public independent statistics and analysis with which both policy makers and citizens can make informed decisions about the way they use energy at work and at home. This government office has done research and collected data on the status of energy use of every kind in all the states of the nation. A quick perusal of what they have to say about New York offers some surprising, or maybe not so surprising facts:

•    Consumption of energy in New York is among the lowest in the country, per capita, partly because of New York’s great reliance on public transportation.

•    The area between New Jersey and New York, the New York Harbor, is able to store over 75 million barrels of petroleum in its bulk terminal storage areas. This amount of storage capacity makes New York the largest petroleum product center in the entire Northeast.

•    There is a proposed pipeline being discussed which could transport up to 10 million gallons of ethanol (an alternative fuel) each day from points in the Midwest to terminals in the Northeast, including New York Harbor.

•    East of the Rockies New York is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the nation.

•    The Robert Moses Niagara plant is a 2,353-megawatt facility which captures hydroelectric power from the Niagara River is one of the world’s largest hydroelectric plants in the world.

First Anniversary of the NYEPI

Exactly one year ago, on October 5, 2009, Governor David A. Paterson announced the start of the New York Energy Policy Institute. The mandate of the NYEPI is to coordinate the large number of projects going on in many of New York’s leading research centers. The members of the NYEPI are acknowledged experts in the field of energy resource development and as such they have been and will continue to be able to offer their expertise to be a resource for New York’s policy makers.

In Governor Paterson’s announcement he said that, “New York already has some of the brightest minds in the world and extensive academic expertise in the clean energy economy. For the first time, they will work together to provide analysis and strategies to inform State policy makers, and the beneficiaries will be the everyday New Yorkers who will get cheaper and cleaner energy. We are transforming New York State into the global leader in renewable energy resources and energy efficiency, and by doing so creating a self-sustaining economy that will put people to work and can export technology around the world.”

The NYEPI was created with monies totaling $200,000 a year for three years in order to achieve the goals set for it. These goals include finding ways to introduce more energy efficiency into energy usage, reduce pollution which originates from energy generation and use, while simultaneously looking for ways to stimulate economic development and create jobs. The most fundamental issues will revolve around electric power generation, transmission and the use of heating fuel. Increased work is expected to be done on finding new and more energy efficient ways to utilize transportation throughout the U.S.

New Paltz Adds PV System to Dept of Public Works Building

In New Paltz, New York the decision has been made to join in the efforts of New York State to incorporate renewable energy sources into the town’s overall energy use plan. Both the village and the town of New Paltz are now conserving resources, reducing air pollution, and lowering operating costs by installing and using the clean and renewable energy source, the sun.

A photovoltaic (PV) system for electric generation was installed on top of the Department of Public Works building, sending power to New Paltz’s municipal buildings. The PV system transforms sunlight to electricity in a clean and renewable way. The municipal building where the PV system is located is right in the center of New Paltz, on Plattekill Avenue, which is a major thoroughfare for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic which connects the SUNY New Paltz campus to the main commercial center of the community. In this way citizens can easily see that their community is participating in the grand design of New York State to get at least 25% of its power from clean, renewable sources.

In addition to this very positive step towards more use of renewable energy sources, New Paltz is also in the process of implementing the NYSERDA Energy Smart activities which concentrate on educating members of the community about PV as a source for electricity using school curriculum, seminars and workshops. Participants include SUNY New Paltz, the New Paltz Central School District and the New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce.

NYSERDA Offers Cash Incentives for Wind Power Conversion

New York State is so motivated to get to 25% of all power used in the state to originate from natural, renewable sources that it is offering monetary incentives to help citizens join in the effort. In the case of encouraging people to install wind energy systems into their homes or businesses there are several factors which determine the amount of the cash incentive, including the size of the wind generation system; the height of the tower; and the type of energy customer. Farms, municipal and county governments and charitable organizations or schools are rewarded with incentives at a higher level than the basic level of incentive.

Excellent conditions for loans are available also from the New York $martSM Loan Fund.  For up to 10 years the interest rates on loans to finance energy efficiency projects and renewable technologies can be reduced by 4%.  Some of the conditions for receiving the cash incentives are as follows:

1.    Payments are made only to eligible installers and not to the owner of the wind system.
2.    Eligible installers have to be approved in advance in order to be part of this program.
3.    The complete cash incentive must be passed on to the owner of the wind system.
4.    The cash incentives are paid in two installments. The first installment of 65% of the total is paid after the delivery of the equipment and all the necessary permits and certificates and approvals have been acquired. The rest of the incentive is paid when the wind system has been connected to the grid and approved by the utility.