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NYPA official says talks with Potsdam centered around microgrid project, not East Dam turbines

Posted 4/13/16

POTSDAM -- The New York Power Authority met with Village of Potsdam officials not to provide specific help for the village hydroelectric installations, but to help the village’s experimental …

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NYPA official says talks with Potsdam centered around microgrid project, not East Dam turbines

Posted

POTSDAM -- The New York Power Authority met with Village of Potsdam officials not to provide specific help for the village hydroelectric installations, but to help the village’s experimental microgrid project succeed.

NYPA spokesman Steven Gosset said Wednesday he wanted to make it clear that whatever discussions the authority had with the village pertained specifically to the microgrid project and not the East Dam turbines and the setbacks the village encountered in rebuilding the gearboxes and related equipment. The East Dam generators have been idled since attempts at rebuilding vital parts of the facility met with setbacks.

In an unplanned and informal discussion at a special village board meeting Monday, it was reported that Clarkson University faculty members involved in the microgrid research project in the village had said that Clarkson and NYPA might be able to provide help to get its idled East Dam hydro plant back online.

Village Administrator Everett Basford recounted talks with Clarkson faculty who suggested the college could offer its expertise in analyzing and helping to fix the problems at the East Dam, and NYPA might be able to help with financing the work needed to get the generators making electric power again.

“The purpose of our meeting with the village was to discuss how we could help their microgrid project succeed, not to discuss its small hydro installation,” Gosset wrote in an email, referring to earlier talks. “It was only while discussing the microgrid that we learned the East Dam facility would need repairs.”

The electricity that the East Dam turbines could generate are a crucial part of an experimental project, a local “microgrid,” where the village, Clarkson University and some of its corporate partners, the New York Power Authority, National Grid and state energy officials are engaged to test the idea of a local emergency grid that would feed crucial village functions should the main power grid fail in a disaster similar in scale to the ice storm of 1998.

The microgrid would be used to employ local electric sources, including the village’s hydroelectric generation stations on the Raquette River and facilities at Clarkson and SUNY Potsdam, to feed power to the hospital, the police and fire stations, and providers of other important functions.

Neither the village, Clarkson or NYPA had committed to anything regarding the East Dam facility, Basford said.

During earlier discussions, Gosset said, “NYPA representatives informed the village that, pending legal review of our statutory authority, this type of work can be completed using just NYPA financing if it wanted to do the work itself or via a full turnkey solution. NYPA does not need to own the site in order to complete the work. Ownership was not discussed at all, only how NYPA's energy efficiency programs could assist in the rehabilitation of the East Dam facility.”

Basford said Tuesday his understanding was that “The village would have to commit to allow NYPA to take over the project, to run the project, and then hand over the project as a turnkey. If we agree, the village would give the go-ahead for the work.”

“Turnkey would involve assessing the site, conducting an audit and overseeing the design of any repairs as well as the construction,” Gosset said. “NYPA would hire contractors for the design and construction.”

But Basford said everyone agreed it is too early to talk about details because all parties are far from any firm plan yet.