5/09/2008
Paterson to restructure state development agency
| Gov. David Paterson plans to do away with one of the two leadership posts within the Empire State Development Corporation (EDSC) as a way to unify the agency that oversees development throughout the state. During a question-and-answer period in the New York Times Midtown headquarters, following a live interview before a packed auditorium with Times journalist Matt Bai, Paterson spoke of pending changes to the agency. "You can't have an upstate economic development chair and a downstate one, which is what we have right now. We've got to have one chair on the Empire State Development Corporation, because we're one state," the governor said, when Bai asked about the city's economic responsibility to the rest of the state. Bai was posing the question on behalf of a Buffalo resident viewing the hour-long interview and submitting his query via Web cast. Paterson later told reporters that during a meeting it was decided "it sends a wrong message" to have two chairs of the agency. "Not that there was anything wrong with the talent, but we felt that there was a problem with the structure. We also felt it sent the wrong message. This is one state," he said. The former downstate chairman of the ESDC, Pat Foye, resigned in March when Gov. Eliot Spitzer stepped down amid a prostitution scandal. The upstate chairman, Dan Gundersen, still holds his post. "I'm sure one person can be sensitive to these issues all around the state," Paterson said, pointing out that the federal government only has one secretary of commerce and one housing chair. Paterson said Gunderson is not leaving and did not get into specifics on staffing changes to the agency. |
Paterson To Eliminate Upstate Economic Development Office?
| The governor is looking to have just one statewide economic development boss - leaving uncertain the future of Daniel Gundersen, the Buffalo-based co-chairman of the Empire State Development Corp. The move has some upstate officials worried that the new Paterson administration will return to the Manhattan-centered approach that dominated economic development efforts in the state for decades. They voiced concern that rhetoric about pushing an upstate economic revival might be less achievable without adequate power being given to the person promoting the upstate region to businesses. Governor David Paterson could eliminate the Upstate Empire State Development Corporation and the upstate post of Dan Gundersen, according to the Buffalo News. I'm worried about this for a few reasons. First, Eliot Spitzer made upstate a focus and Gundersen was in that post because of Spitzer. As much as this state wants to separate itself from Spitzer, the work Spitzer did with upstate is what should be followed by every governor that follows him - including Paterson. Also, I'm concerned about who is influencing this decision. I don't believe Paterson, unilaterally, would make such a decision. He has showed that he is willing to work with upstate and on behalf of upstate to address our economic concerns. One thing is clear: Gundersen was good for upstate. I sat in on a conference call after the budget was finalized and Gundersen talked about the upstate economic initiatives. He knows what's going on up here. We need Gundersen in that post. |
Group critical of wind farms
| Coalition would keep watch on state energy policy issues By Matt Surtel msurtel@batavianews.com Jim Hall has a philosophy. The 60-year-old Steuben County resident is part of Cohocton Wind Watch one of numerous small-town groups opposing wind farms proposed in their communities. Each group is up against the same cookie cutter” approach when a wind energy developer enters their town with a potential project, Hall says. And they’re often re-inventing the wheel in their efforts. Hail is among those organizing the Citizen Power Alliance. The coalition of groups and activists aims to address the bigger, state issues involved in energy projects and policy. The CPA will conduct an organizational meeting the morning of May 18 at Letchworth State Park. We’re not limited to strictly wind issues,” Hall said Wednesday. “We’re an environmental and energy alternative group that encompasses energy and environmental policy primarily in New York State but we have members outside the state ax well.” The CPA includes 14 member groups so far, including Citizens for a Healthy Rural Neighborhood of Perry. They’re primarily based in Western New York, though the CPA is a statewide group, with other members in New Hampshire and Ohio. “The alliance coalition has been organizing over the past several months,” Hall said. The Letchworth gathering is more a get-together because we don’t have a tremendous amount of opportunity where people can see each other face-to-face.” Members will discuss which directions they’d like to pursue, along with organizing leadership and committees. Eminent domain and the state’s proposed Article X legislation are among the CPA’s biggest concerns. Hall said. The former has traditionally been used by the government to seize land for public developments such as highways and hospitals. But it’s more recently been used for commercial development, and CPA members fear eminent domain could be used for projects benefiting private companies, and which are not in the public interest. Article X was developed to speed up the review process for determining the locations of new power plants, but expired in 2003. Proposals to renew the law are under way at the state level, and opponents have often cited fears it would take away local control over wind farms and other projects. “Were really concerned home rule will be thrown aside and New York state will allow siting of all kinds of power projects, without taking into consideration the local economics and environmental policy like (the State Environmental Quality Review process).” State officials have denied Article X would allow indiscriminate siting of power projects. Hall said the state’s pursuing the “fast track” for such projects, which would override local laws and ordinances passed by towns. We’re looking for a sound environmental and energy policy on the state level,” he said. “We feel the current direction does not work.” The state is pursuing policies which ignore all the implications of subsidies given to corporations, that won’t really produce the desired energy, he said. He cited energy credit trading and problems with turbine gearboxes at the Steel Winds project in Lackawanna. The CPA members feel that’s fraud, he said. Besides the existing member groups, the CPA has another 15 to 20 partner links on its Web Site, Hall said. He believes the group represents several thousand members cumulatively. Those interested in working with the group will be able to attend the gathering, 9 am to 10 pm May 18 at the Middle Falls pavilion. It’s asked that those attending be constructive, and the CPA reserves the right ask disruptive people to leave. “We’re quite interested to invite anyone who has interest in sound and community-based environmental interests and energy policy in New York State to attend,” Hall said. “We don’t keep secrets. Were very open.” Visit www.citizenpoweralliance.com for information. |
PROJECT SUNSHINE NEW YORK STATE
| Project Sunlight is an effort by my office to promote your right to know and to monitor governmental decision-making. This website - the first of its kind in New York - allows you to easily access statewide government information that until now has been scattered and difficult to retrieve. Of course, Project Sunlight would not be available without the support of the Governor and legislative leaders. Their agreement - and the support of the entire legislature - ensured that start-up funding for Project Sunlight was included in the state budget. Currently, we are working on the first phase of this project: collecting and standardizing different data and making it available to you on a comprehensive, easy-to-search website. During this initial phase, you have the ability to search the Project Sunlight website to examine information related to campaign finance, legislation, lobbying activity, and recipients of state government contracts. Our goal is to promote disclosure as well as to increase government's transparency and accountability to you. As James Madison, the Founding Father of the Bill of Rights observed, "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." We look forward to receiving your comments or suggestions, and any requests for additional information you would like to see made publicly available. We will incorporate your ideas into a more robust version in 2008. We hope this website is helpful to you. Sincerely, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo |
ATTORNEY GENERAL ANDREW CUOMO APPOINTS SPECIAL DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY
| NEW YORK, NY (February 26, 2007) – Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the appointment of Ellen Nachtigall Biben as Special Deputy Attorney General for Public Integrity, where she will oversee landmark initiatives to fight government corruption. The Public Integrity Bureau will handle civil and criminal cases, pursuing perpetrators of fraud and bad conduct statewide and seeking to recover misspent taxpayer funds. Ms. Biben’s distinguished 11-year career as a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s office has produced several long-term, comprehensive investigations into organized crime, money laundering, public corruption, tax evasion, and other forms of racketeering. Since 2001, she has specialized in such prosecutions, serving as Deputy Bureau Chief of the Rackets Bureau. “Ellen Biben’s proven experience finding and eliminating corruption in its various forms puts her at a great advantage to help restore integrity and trust in the state Capitol and beyond,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “Her tireless work as a prosecutor has served the people of New York County well for over a decade. I am proud to welcome her to our team, where she will lead this extraordinarily important effort. She will be an asset not only to the Department of Law, but to the entire state.” For the Department of Law, Ms. Biben will manage Attorney General Cuomo’s milestone public integrity initiatives, which include a thorough review of approximately 6,000 legislative budget member items, a multi-layered legality review of any further proposed items, and “Project Sunlight,” a statewide Internet database where New Yorkers can examine links between elected officials, campaign donations, lobbyists, special interests, and/or state contracts. “Ellen Biben served the Manhattan District Attorney’s office with distinction for more than ten years,” said New York County District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau. “Her excellent work on a wide range of white-collar, corruption, and organized crime cases, and her experience as a supervisor in the Rackets Bureau make her an outstanding choice to head the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit.” Prior to her tenure at the New York County District Attorney’s office, Ms. Biben was a litigation associate with Sullivan & Cromwell and a law clerk to the Hon. Alan H. Nevas of the United States District Court for Connecticut. Ms. Biben received a B.A. from Wesleyan University, where she was captain of the varsity swim team and a J.D. from the University of Southern California Law Center, where she was executive editor of the Law Review. |
5/08/2008
Schwinn's Electric Bikes Now Available
 After many delays, Schwinn's new electric bikes are now available in certain bike stores. The range includes the Campus, the least expensive model at $1,900, the World GSE, which sells for $2,200, and the Continental priced at $2,500. These bikes look just like regular bikes -- the electric motors and batteries are integrated seamlessly into the design.Schwinn claims that the four pound Protanium lithium polymer battery included with these bikes is the lightest and most durable on the market. One charge will last 40-60 miles. You detach the batteries to charge them, so there are no wires on the bike itself. The bikes use a 250 watts max electric hub motor in the front wheel, controlled by a throttle on the handlebar which can propel the bike up to 18 mph. The batteries have a lifespan of about 3 years. A word of caution: the electric bike review magazine, A To B, warns that the Schwinn's they tested had battery problems when going uphill . |
Wind energy company Noble Environmental plans IPO
| NEW YORK - Wind energy company Noble Environmental Power Inc. has registered for an initial public offering of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday. Noble did not disclose the expected size or price range of the IPO, but indicated the offering price may total up to $375 million. The company noted that the total offering price was estimated to calculate its registration fee and may change. The Essex, Conn.-based company was founded in August 2004 and began operating its first wind parks in March 2008. Noble has 282 megawatts, or MW, of electrical generating capacity through wind parks in New York. The company has also started construction of additional wind parks in New York and Texas that it expects will provide an extra 465 MW of capacity in 2008. By the end of 2012, Noble expects to have about 3,850 MW of capacity. The company widened its loss to $42.5 million in 2007, from $20.7 million in 2006. Noble plans to use the net proceeds from the IPO for general corporate purposes, which include development activities, investments and other capital expenditures, such as future turbine supply agreements. President and Chief Executive Walter Howard was previously a senior vice president at American Water Works Company Inc., a nongovernmental water supplier and water utility. He also served as CEO of Noble Power Assets LLC, which was founded by some members of the company's senior management to acquire assets in the unregulated electric power generation industry. Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ), JP Morgan Securities and Credit Suisse Securities are underwriting the IPO. Noble plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market (nasdaq: NDAQ - news - people ) under the symbol "NEPI." |
Expect a Jolt When Opening the Electric Bill
| Surging fuel costs are about to inflict more pain on consumers, this time in the form of rapidly rising electricity bills. Power prices are being pushed up across the U.S., with increases sometimes soaring into double digits, due to costlier coal and natural gas, the fuels used to make 70% of the nation's electricity. It usually takes awhile for fuel-price swings to show up in electricity bills because utilities typically buy most of what they need under long-term arrangements. As older contracts expire, though, utilities are facing the reality of higher costs. (Click to read entire article) |
5/07/2008
Windmills are a hurdle in Spanish utility's bid to buy NYSEG
| SARANAC LAKE — New York State Electric and Gas, which provides electricity to customers in several towns in the northeastern Adirondacks, may soon be owned by a Spanish power company if a deal can be reached with the state Public Service Commission. NYSEG, which is based in Binghamton and provides electricity and gas to Jay, Wilmington and AuSable Forks as well as much of Clinton County, is a subsidiary of Energy East, a Portland, Maine-based company. Iberdrola, a Madrid, Spain-based utility provider, agreed to purchase Energy East last June for $8.4 billion. Federal regulators have approved the merger, as have regulators in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut, the other four states where Energy East operates, but the PSC is withholding approval until Iberdrola divests itself of all wind holdings in the state and agrees not to invest in any more. “The PSC says it would prevent other wind developers from moving forward with projects, and also that it wouldn’t allow other wind developers to connect to their lines,” U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said last week. “This is absolutely absurd. The PSC has not offered a shred of evidence to support this claim.” Iberdrola’s case will be going before the PSC this summer. PSC spokesman James Denn told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle last week that negotiations between the company and the commission are continuing and that PSC is trying to ensure no one company can monopolize the wind energy market in the state. “If a company can control both the generation and the distribution of electricity, they have an opportunity to exert a greater influence on the market than you might want them to,” Denn said. Schumer said existing regulatory safeguards should be adequate to ensure Iberdrola doesn’t break the law. “If the PSC is so inept at finding illegal actions by utilities, they ought to fold up shop themselves,” Schumer said. The PSC has also said Iberdrola should create a $664 million trust fund to cover unforeseen increases in utility prices so consumers’ rates don’t go up. The company has agreed to a $200 million trust fund so far. “I don’t think it’s high enough, but it’s a good start,” Schumer said. Iberdrola is one of the leading producers of wind power in Europe. It already holds a 50 percent stake in the Maple Ridge Wind Farm in Lewis County, and it owns the Roaring Brook Wind Farm in Lewis County and the Horse Creek Wind Farm in Jefferson County. It has several wind farms in Pennsylvania, and it has signed deals to develop wind power in Massachusetts and Connecticut. “Particularly with fossil fuel prices going up, wind power offers real environmental and economic benefits,” Schumer said. “The PSC is standing on its head. It’s upside down; it’s inside out. They should be encouraging Iberdrola to use wind power.” Schumer said the Maple Ridge Wind Farm, which opened in 2007, pays $8 million per year in property taxes, pays $1.56 million to local property owners and has created 159 new jobs. Schumer said New York greatly underutilizes wind power, currently using only 411 megawatts of the grid’s 7,000 megawatt capacity. Contact Nathan Brown at 891-2600 ext. 26 |
Give back to the grid
| We need more diverse sources of energy. We need to reduce our electric bills. So why won't New York State allow businesses, schools, hospitals and other government entities to get serious about generating their own power? That's the question Albany lawmakers were asked repeatedly yesterday on "Net Metering Day," as advocates for an intelligent energy policy tried to spark support for a law giving electrical power to the people. Perhaps these bills, which make economic and environmental common sense, have languished because the legislators can't comprehend what exactly net metering means. Or maybe the state's private utilities, which stand to lose a few dollars if local generation becomes widespread, were more persuasive. Well, we can help with the comprehension part. Right now, residential users who create their own solar, wind or biomass power can make their meters spin backward, reducing their bills. Extra power can be sold back to the electrical grid. More widespread benefits, however, will come only when huge power-users can play, too. Lawmakers should get behind the expansive net metering bills sponsored by Assemb. Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) and Sen. Owen Johnson (R-West Babylon). While two local lawmakers are taking the lead in this fight, Long Island really doesn't need a new law to get started - LIPA is exempt from the regulations for private utilities. Just 227 Nassau and Suffolk homeowners had the pleasure of getting a refund check last year, but Long Island Power Authority chief executive Kevin Law has decided to expand the program to all LIPA customers. That's just the kind of aggressive energy leadership the state needs. Now it's Albany's turn. |
