August 15, 2006

NYPA Astoria Project, Astoria, New York

Dr. Robert Peltier, PE

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) was created by then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New York State Legislature in 1931 to develop the hydropower resources of the St. Lawrence River. NYPA's mandate has grown over the years. It now owns and operates hydro and fossil-fueled plants statewide that generate about 25% of the state's power and ensure that affordable electricity is available to all New Yorkers.

Among its assets is the 800-MW St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project, in Massena, N.Y. This project is part of an international power dam—the Robert Moses-Robert H. Saunders Power Dam—operated by the NYPA and Ontario Power Generation, with 16 turbine-generators on each side of the U.S.-Canadian border. The plant came on-line in 1958 and was relicensed in 2003 for another 50 years of service. NYPA—which is based in White Plains, N.Y.—also operates the Niagara Power Project, the 1,040-MW Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project, and five smaller hydro projects scattered across the state. It hopes to receive a new 50-year license for its Niagara Power Project by mid-2007. The 2,400-MW project, which first went into service in 1961, is New York State's single largest source of electricity.

NYPA Astoria (Figure 1) is the latest addition to the fleet and the first large generating facility to have been built in the Big Apple in decades. The plant, while usually operating on natural gas, can run on kerosene (with a low, 0.04% sulfur content) for backup, but not for more than 30 days per year. The plant's main customers (about 10% of the total load) are government entities in New York City, including the school system, hospitals, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority's subways and commuter trains.

 

 

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