SCHUMER ANNOUNCES NEARLY $11 MILLION TO BOLSTER HYDROPOWER INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS UPSTATE NEW YORK — FROM THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE & JOBS LAW
Fed $$$ Will Make Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvements, From The North Country To The Hudson Valley, Including Wildlife And Environmental Restoration, All While Bolstering Clean-Energy Workforce With Good-Paying Jobs
Schumer: Major Fed $$$ Is Flowing To Power Upstate NY Communities With Clean Energy, Good Jobs And Combat Effects Of Climate Change
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced nearly $11 million from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydroelectric Incentives Program to maintain and upgrade hydroelectric facilities and infrastructure across Upstate New York to provide clean electricity and wildlife restoration to maintain the beauty vital to Upstate New York’s rivers, all while fighting climate change.
“Nearly $11 million in federal funding is now flowing to supercharge hydropower across Upstate New York thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law. From the North Country to the Hudson Valley, hydropower is a critical renewable energy source for communities along our many waterways from the Wallkill to the Seneca River, and this funding will make long overdue improvements to these facilities and help restore wildlife and surrounding environments, all while creating good paying jobs in Upstate NY and fighting climate change,” said Senator Schumer. “When I led the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law to passage, it was investments like these — that improve Upstate’s infrastructure and help our nation run on clean energy — that I had in mind. Projects like these are a blueprint for how we can strengthen our electric grid, all while mitigating the impacts of climate change.”
Specifically, the $10,858,000 in federal funding will go towards eight projects across Upstate New York that will upgrade generating units, install trash racks and rake systems, and automation systems to increase the reliability and efficiency of power production.
The eight selectees in Upstate New York and project descriptions can be found below:
|
Project |
Project Description |
Funding Received |
|---|---|---|
|
Central Hudson Gas and Electric Company, New Paltz, NY |
Will carry out a turbine replacement and generator rehabilitation project for Units 1 & 2. The project will involve engineering and supply of two new hydraulic turbine runners, nose cones and stress testing of the new runners. Additionally, the generator will be disassembled and rehabilitated. The facility was constructed in 1919 and 1920 and is located on the Wallkill River in New Paltz, New York |
$3,400,000 |
|
GR Catalyst Two LLC, Greenhich, NY |
Will conduct controls package upgrade, tailwater gate restoration, a transformer replacement, an automated trash rake system, and pond management and intake improvements. The facility started operation in 1991 and is located on the Batten Kill River located in Greenwich, New York. |
$2,600,000 |
|
C-S Canals, LLC, Seneca Falls / Village of Waterloo, NY |
Will carry out head-pond elevation restoration, downstream fish passage improvements, installation of runners, generator refurbishments, and controls upgrades. The facility started operation in 1917 and is located on the Seneca River, in Waterloo, New York. |
$1,500,000 |
|
High Dam Hydroelectric Station, City of Oswego, Oswego, NY |
Will conduct control system improvements, relay and interconnect improvements, generator rewinding, turbine overhauls, automated rack raker improvements, and replace excitation and hydraulic power units. The facility started operation in 1929 and is located on |
$1,300,000 |
|
Colton Development, Brookfield Renewable, Pierrepont, NY |
Replaced a trash rack enabling the install of a new trash raker system upstream of the existing intake. The new trash racker is capable of raking under full station load conditions without the need to back the station down and spill water. The facility started operation in 1928 and is located on the Lower Raquette River in Pierrepont, New York. |
$1,200,000 |
|
Stillwater Hydropower Efficiency Improvements, GR Catalyst One, LLC, Stillwater, NY |
Will perform tailwater hydraulic improvements, generator refurbishments, gearbox rebuilds, and an automated trash rake install. The facility started operation in 1991 and is located on the Hudson River in Stillwater, New York. |
$675,000 |
|
Azure Mountain Power, St. Regis Falls, NY |
Will refurbish two vertical-shaft generators that were built in 1912 and 1922, replace trash racks, and upgrade control equipment. The facility is on the St. Regis River in Regis Falls, New York. |
$125,000 |
|
Chasm Falls, Malone, NY |
Will fully automate Chasm Falls with the installation of a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), which required re-designing a new hydraulic pressure unit. The improvement will also include designing and building a new switchgear, installing new protective relays, and rehabbing the plant electrically to enable compatibility with the PLC technology. The facility started operation in 1982 and is located on the North Salmon River in Malone, |
$58,000 |
Nationwide, today’s funding is going towards 46 hydroelectric projects across 19 states to receive up to $71.5 million in incentive payments to increase the generation efficiency of the Nation’s existing hydropower fleet. The Hydroelectric Efficiency Improvement Incentive payments represent DOE’s largest investment in hydroelectric facilities to date.
Supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydroelectric Incentives Program is authorized to provide a historic $750 million to help maintain and enhance existing hydroelectric facilities to ensure generators continue to provide clean electricity, while improving dam safety and reducing environmental impacts.
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