New York Power Authority Applauds Issuance of New 50-Year License for Continued Operation of Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project in Schoharie County

For Immediate Release: 5/1/19

Contact:  Maura Balaban, NYPA | maura.balaban@nypa.gov | (914) 390-8171

Renewed License Supports Governor Cuomo’s Nation-Leading Green New Deal for Clean Energy and State’s Energy Reliability

License Agreements Tied to More than $70 million in Support for Local Communities, First Responders, Ecological and Recreational Improvements

 

GILBOA – The New York Power Authority (NYPA) today announced that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a new 50-year license for the continued operation of the Authority’s Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project (B-G) in Schoharie County. The new license is supported by historic agreements valued at more than $70 million between NYPA and key stakeholders, including local communities and state and federal resource agencies. The new license supports Governor Cuomo’s aggressive clean energy policies and provides continued security in energy supply and reliability in the state’s energy system for the next 50 years.

“The Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project has been an economic anchor for the Schoharie Valley and under this new license, it is poised to do even more for the local economy and provide the next 50 years of clean, reliable energy for New York State,” said NYPA Chairman John R. Koelmel. “This facility has played a vital role in stabilizing the statewide power grid during periods of peak demand. The project is one of New York’s original energy storage facilities– storing clean hydropower for use when it is most needed—and it is more critical than ever now as we face the challenges of a warming climate.”

The B-G project is a clean energy, pumped-storage hydroelectric facility that helps the state meet its daily electricity needs, especially during periods of peak demand (when it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter). The relicensing of the 1,160-megawatt project ensures its vital support for the Governor’s nation-leading Green New Deal that puts New York State on a path to a carbon-neutral economy and advances the state’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

“We’re very pleased by FERC’s recognition--through the issuance of the new 50-year license--of NYPA’s responsible stewardship of the B-G project,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO. “We’re grateful to our partners and stakeholders in the process leading to the new license, particularly the host communities of Blenheim and Gilboa. This license renewal is a reflection of the strong partnerships the Power Authority has fostered with the area communities over the decades. We’re looking forward to the next 50 years of productive engagement for this crucial project’s continued benefits.”  

“The relicensing of the Blenheim-Gilboa project is great news for the surrounding Schoharie Valley and New York State,” said Brian Saez, NYPA Central New York regional manager.  “The Power Authority has always placed a high value on being a good neighbor and it’s gratifying to see those relationships reflected in the support from the Towns of Blenheim and Gilboa and Schoharie County for the new license.”

FERC voted to approve the license application filed by NYPA on April 27, 2017.  The project’s original license, issued in May 1969, cleared the way for the construction of the project and operation through April 30, 2019.

As part of the five-year relicensing process, NYPA agreed to a study plan that examined any potential effects of the plant’s operation on downstream flooding, fish and aquatic resources cultural resources, aesthetics, socio-economic resources and recreational opportunities. As a result of the studies and meetings with the local stakeholders, the new license spells out commitments by the Power Authority for improvements within B-G’s 2,900-acre project boundary that were developed in consultation with the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The agreement is a significant part of the FERC relicensing process.

The new operating license includes the following highlights:

Support for capital improvements at Mine Kill State Park in the amount of $4 million;

Continued protection and support of Lansing Manor, a historic home listed in the National Register of Historic Places that is located on the B-G Visitors Center grounds, a facility that will celebrate its 200^th anniversary this summer;

$1.5 million for two new habitat improvement projects in B-G’s upper reservoir for fishery resources, including new fish attraction structures;

$2 million toward ecological enhancement measures in the Schoharie Creek watershed;

Guidelines for continued management of B-G project lands within the FERC-approved project boundary; and

Revised operating procedures for Schoharie Creek outflows, along with a commitment to support the U.S. Geological Survey in its operation and maintenance of Schoharie Creek monitoring gages, including the installation, operation, and maintenance of seven new downstream gages, for an annual cost of approximately $250,000. 

Additionally, in support of the License Application, the Power Authority will invest in the local communities: 

Payments valued at more than $60 million for the Towns of Blenheim and Gilboa, Schoharie County and first responders;

Provisions for annual revenue sharing worth a minimum of $25 million over the life of the new license.

“Congratulations to the New York Power Authority on receiving the renewed Operating License, from FERC, for the Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Hydro Facility,” said Blenheim Town Supervisor Don Airey. “The effort, study and outreach that went into obtaining the new license, and the associated Settlement Agreements with the host communities and Schoharie County, has ushered in a new era of cooperation between all parties involved. Our future together is bright with partnership opportunities going forward.” 

“The Town of Gilboa is most appreciative of the New York Power Authority’s power plant,’ said Gilboa Town Supervisor Anthony Van Glad.  “The Power Authority is an integral part of our local economy, bringing good jobs to the Gilboa community. FERC’s relicensing of the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project, and the community support agreements tied to the new license, surely benefit the residents and taxpayers of Gilboa and will allow the town to continue to thrive into the future. As a host community, Gilboa is pleased to have the Power Authority as a neighbor.”

“The Power Authority has been here for 50 years and they have been a good neighbor, we have a good relationship with them,” said Earl Van Wormer III, chairman, Schoharie County Board of Supervisors. ”Schoharie County looks forward to working with NYPA to find new ways to grow our relationship during the next 50 years.” 

About Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project

B-G’s principal features include the power plant, the upper and lower reservoirs, and all surrounding grounds and facilities within the project boundary, much of which support regional tourism and recreation. Within the towns of Blenheim and Gilboa the B-G project sits just below Brown Mountain. Water released from the upper reservoir, atop Brown Mountain, plunges 1,042 feet within the mountain to power the four turbine-generators, then flows into a lower reservoir on Schoharie Creek. At night and on weekends, when demand is lower, water is pumped back to the upper reservoir, using economical electricity from other sources.

NYPA has developed and restored several public educational and recreational facilities around the plant, including Lansing Manor; its Blenheim-Gilboa Visitors Center; and Mine Kill State Park, located adjacent to the Visitors Center, that is operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

NYPA operates Lansing Manor as a museum.  The B-G Visitors Center is in a restored 19^th century barn, which is open to the public year-round offering free educational programming and events for area residents, tourists and school groups. Since opening in 1974, it has welcomed more than 2 million visitors. The land surrounding the visitors center provides numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, cross-country skiing, and boating and fishing in the reservoirs that NYPA stocks with game fish.

The power plant, located on the B-G project grounds, began supplying electricity to the state’s power grid in 1973.

About NYPA
NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 70 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. 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. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow us on Twitter @NYPAenergy, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn.

New York State’s Green New Deal
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Green New Deal, the nation’s leading clean energy and jobs agenda, will aggressively put New York State on a path to economy-wide carbon neutrality This initiative will provide for a just transition to clean energy, spurring the growth of the green economy and mandating New York's power be 100 percent clean and carbon-free by 2040, one of the most aggressive goals in the U.S. The cornerstone of this newly proposed mandate is a significant increase of New York's successful Clean Energy Standard to 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030. As part of the unprecedented ramp-up of renewable energy, New York has already invested $2.9 billion into 46 large-scale renewable projects across the state as it significantly increases its clean energy targets, such as: quadrupling New York's offshore wind target to a nation-leading 9,000 megawatts by 2035; doubling distributed solar deployment to 6,000 megawatts by 2025; and deploying 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030. To support this ambitious work, NY Green Bank intends to use its expertise in overcoming financing gaps to foster greater environmental impacts per public dollar by raising over $1 billion in third party funds to expand climate financing availability across New York and the rest of North America.