Credit: Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
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NEW YORK (77WABC) — Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday the completion of a major $460 million modernization and life extension effort at the New York Power Authority’s Lewiston Pump Generating Plant, as well as the digitization of 13 hydropower turbines at the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant.
The digitization is the first major milestone of Next Generation Niagara, a $1.1 billion, 15-year modernization and digitization program to significantly extend the operating life of the Niagara Power Project. Together, these projects represent nearly $1.6 billion of clean energy infrastructure investments at the Niagara Power Project that will help advance New York State’s aggressive clean energy goal to transition to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040.
In Niagara County announcing a major new investment in clean energy infrastructure. Watch live: https://t.co/OJkQCfHLZZ
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) September 22, 2021
“Taking bold steps in the fight against climate change has never been more important, and New York State is prepared to lead the way forward taking advantage of carbon-free sources of energy,” Hochul said in a press release. “By digitizing and modernizing our Niagara Power Project, one of the largest sources of clean energy in the country, we’re ensuring that it will continue to power our economy for years to come. This project holds up New York as a shining example of what it takes to modernize and upgrade a large, complex generation resource.”
The multi-year clean energy infrastructure upgrade projects reinforce the Niagara Power Project’s role as a foundational clean energy resource that will provide the reliability, flexibility and resiliency needed to advance the state’s nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals.
“Sometimes the rages of Mother Nature feels like she’s getting the upper hand, but this is how we fight back,” Hochul said at a press conference. “We build resiliency, we launch clean power and we invest in projects like these. And I want to thank every person who is involved in this extraordinary decade, long journey to get us where we are today.”
According to a press release, the Robert Moses and Lewiston Pump Generating plants, which together make up the Niagara Power Project, have a combined net dependable capability of 2,675 megawatts making the Niagara Power Project the largest generating facility in the state and one of the largest in the country.
The Lewiston Pump Generating Plant and Robert Moses Power Plant improvements include replacing aging equipment with the latest machinery reflecting advanced digital technologies for optimizing the hydroelectric project’s performance. The projects will secure the combined plant’s long-term future as a clean power generator that spurs economic development in Western New York and across the state through its low-cost power allocation programs, including New York’s ReChargeNY program.
The Niagara Project, through these programs, directly supports more than 200,000 jobs and $13 billion in capital investments.
