New York State Energy Research & Development
Authority Opens Office in Western New York
RELEASE: IMMEDIATE, January 23, 2002
CONTACT: Colleen Quinn, NYSERDA
(518) 862-1090, ext. 3359.
Buffalo, NY – – The New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) today announced the opening of their first ever
regional office in Western New York. Joining NYSERDA President, William
M. Flynn were Erie County Executive Joel Giambra, Buffalo Mayor Anthony
Masiello, Erie County Comptroller Nancy Naples and several other State
and local elected officials.
"We are here today because we want to make it even easier
for Western New York businesses and residents to take advantage
of NYSERDA's programs," said Flynn. "Governor Pataki has
made economic development in Western New York a priority, and opening
our first ever regional office here will certainly help in that
effort," added Flynn. "Since the inception of the New
York Energy $martSM program in 1998, we have seen
significant growth in the number of programs and projects we are
doing throughout the State, especially here in Western New York.
That's why we felt establishing a regional office in the area was
important. During that time, we have been fortunate to form some
outstanding partnerships in the region that have lead to hundreds
of projects being done with businesses, municipalities, schools,
and residential homeowners, and we want to build on that success."
The projects done in the Western New York counties of Erie, Niagara,
Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Wyoming, Genesee and Orleans since
1998 have resulted in 630 projects with a funding total of $111 million
- that's NYSERDA funding and co-funding combined.
Working with local economic development officials and business organizations,
NYSERDA has provided funding for numerous well known companies such
as Tops Markets, Moog, Motorola, Quebecor Printing, Buffalo China,
CALSPAN, and Clean Air Technologies to assist them with both their
energy needs and Research & Development assistance . Funding has
also been provided to assist more than 20 local schools and colleges
with improving their energy efficiency, along with 11 health-care
related facilities. Several projects have also been done for Erie
County and surrounding municipalities like the Town of Amherst.
"Providing technical and financial assistance to help implement
energy efficiency improvements is what our New York Energy $martSM
program is all about," said Flynn. "These are dollars
that homeowners, consumers and businesses pay on their utility bills,
and our job is to get those dollars back to them in ways that improves
the state's energy, economic, and environmental future. We just
finished the first three years of the State's public benefit program
and the results clearly show that investing in energy efficiency
pays dividends in all those areas, which is why the Public Service
Commission has extended the program for another five years, and
raised the funding level to $150 million dollars a year," continued
Flynn. "NYSERDA has also shown over the years that we are one
of the premier public research & development organizations in
the country, and I think the companies we have helped throughout
the State would agree."
County Executive Joel Giambra said, "With a regional presence
here, programs like NYSERDA's Rebuild New York Communities deliver
many benefits for our County. The efficiency of several of our county
facilities, ranging from wastewater treatment plants to our new
Family Court Building, has been improved through the technical and
financial assistance from NYSERDA."
"I've worked with NYSERDA for years, dating back to my days
on the Senate Energy Committee. They provide excellent technical
and financial assistance to individuals and to businesses to help
lower energy costs. I welcome NYSERDA's full-time presence here
in our City," said Mayor Masiello.
Erie County Comptroller Nancy Naples said, "NYSERDA always
brings financial, as well as technical help to the table. By opening
a regional office here, they'll be able to expand their presence
and offer more help to citizens of Erie County. We are pleased to
welcome them to Western New York."
"I'm confident that expanding our presence here in the Western
New York region will lead to even more successes then we've enjoyed
to date," added Flynn. "Ongoing efforts like our Rebuild
Buffalo/Niagara cooperative initiative, which was developed two
years ago, is now helping to develop an energy section to the Downtown
Buffalo Strategic Plan, which will now be an integral part of the
downtown revitalization effort. It's programs and partnerships like
this, which will help to foster economic growth in the months and
years to come."
The initial round of the New York Energy $martSM
Program brought successful results such as $122 million in annual
energy savings (bill reductions), 700,000 tons of CO2 reductions annually,
which is equivalent to 139,000 cars, 2,300 jobs created or retained
in New York State, and 504 MW in peak MW reductions, equivalent to
meeting peak load requirements of approximately 500,000 households.
These successes have lead to the extension of the program, for another
5 years, which is one of the reasons for opening an office in the
western part of the State.
For more information on NYSERDA please refer to our web sites at www.nyserda.org
, www.GetEnergySmart.org.,
or call (716) 842-1438 or 1-866-NYS-ERDA.
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