The improvements will help New York move further toward the Governor’s Clean Energy Standard that requires that 50 percent of the state’s electricity needs to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2030. The project also included equipment upgrades at the New York Power Authority's Ashokan hydropower plant in Ulster County.
Four of the eight turbine generators at these two plants were updated through NYPA's $20 million Life Extension and Modernisation Programme. Under a related $6-million initiative, NYPA also completed upgrades to control equipment at the two Mohawk River plants, and at its Ashokan small hydro facility. These initiatives are part of NYPA’s Five-year Strategic Plan to upgrade and maintain its assets so they deliver optimal outcomes for energy customers.
“With our nation-leading investments in hydropower, we are building a sustainable, resilient and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers” Governor Cuomo said.“This is one more major step in our efforts to set a bold, national standard for reducing energy emissions and for creating a cleaner and greener New York for future generations.”
Richard Kauffman, Chairman, Energy and Finance, New York State, added thatthe completion of the improvements demonstrates NYPAs commitment to clean energy while simultaneously focusing on updating critical infrastructure to ensure NYPA meets its 50 percent by 2030 Clean Energy Standard target.
NYPA purchased the Vischer Ferry and Crescent plants from the New York State Department of Transportation in 1984. It added two turbine-generators to each project in 1990, for approximately 6,000 kilowatts (kW) of combined new capacity. This preceded its 1993 overhaul of the two original turbine-generators at each facility, dating back to 1925.
The recently completed upgrades involved the newer turbine-generators. The work included refurbishing the major turbine-generator components, as well as replacing three river-flow regulating gates and two overhead cranes, both of which were nearly a century-old. NYPA is currently undertaking an engineering assessment for the overhaul of the four original turbine-generators.
The output from NYPA’s small-hydro facilities help activate locks on the Erie Canal and provide supplemental power for NYPA’s governmental customers.
NYPA is the nation's largest state public power organisation through the operation of its 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. 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. More than 70 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower.
Image: Crescent and Vischer Ferry hydroelectric power plant on the Mohawk River (NYPA)
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