Printer Friendly Format Email a Friend


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 185-08
May 15, 2008

MAYOR BLOOMBERG FLIPS SWITCH ON FIRST TRI-GENERATION POWER PLANT IN NYC

New Cleaner Power Plant Will Save Co-Op City Residents $15-$25 Million Annually and Cut Emissions by 40% Helping NYC Meet PlaNYC Goals


Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today turned on the City's first tri-generation power plant at Co-Op City in the Bronx, which is the result of a $65 million renovation.  The plant will use less fuel, cut carbon emissions and pollutants by 40% and will result in between $15 million and $25 million in savings annually to co-op residents.  The new plant will also generate more power than Co-Op City uses annually, allowing for the sale of excess power to utility companies, that will provide an additional source of revenue for the Riverbay Corporation which manages Co-Op City.  The Co-Op City housing complex is home to more than 55,000 New Yorkers and was formerly the largest user of number six fuel oil in the City, emitting 3,400 tons of pollutants annually.  This new plant will burn cleaner fuel, transforming it from one of the dirtiest, least efficient plants into a model of efficiency and environmental friendliness.

"The kind of emission reductions that we'll see as a result of this new plant will make a real difference here in the Bronx, where in some neighborhoods, children are hospitalized for asthma at four times the national rate," said Mayor Bloomberg.  "This new plant will help us achieve another important goal of our PlaNYC   - making New York have the cleanest air of any major city in America."

Traditional power plants convert fuels such as oil or natural gas to electricity inefficiently because the conversion generates wasted heat.  Co-generation plants divert that heat for other uses.  In tri-generation fuel is used for three separate functions: it generates electricity, uses the waste heat or steam for heating and cooling, and diverts the excess steam to a turbine that generates even more electricity and heat energy, making it the most efficient type of power plant in use.

"We're grateful to the Mayor's office and the Department of Environmental Protection for helping us to facilitate this vital new infrastructure for Co-Op City," said Othelia Jones, President of Riverbay Corporation's Board of Directors.  "The Mayor has been there for Co-Op City and we're pleased that he's on hand today to mark this important occasion for the 55,000 residents of our community."

Last year Mayor Bloomberg released PlaNYC, a series of 127 initiatives aimed at cutting New York City's total carbon emissions by 30% by 2030.  Those initiatives include efforts to reduce pollution from the City's power plants.  In addition to encouraging private sector buildings to use cleaner fuel, the City has committed $285 million over ten years to upgrade the boilers in more than 100 public schools.  The newly renovated plant at Co-Op City will remove the complex from the New York City electrical grid, making it fully self sufficient.  Extra power generated by the plant will be available for power companies to use in case of a brown out or black out during the peak summer months. 







MEDIA CONTACT:


Stu Loeser / John Gallagher   (212) 788-2958




More Resources
Watch the video in low or high bandwidth