New York Power Authority

Clean Energy September 28, 2020

On Jones Beach, a new beachhead in the climate war

By GREGORY ZELLER // An all-season “net zero” nature and energy educational resource has risen on the climate battle’s front lines. Less than two years after it was first announced, the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center has officially opened its doors, offering an informative and entertaining journey through New York’s natural systems – and a glimpse at the state’s ambitious plans to combat climate change. A few things have changed since the emission-free center…

Accounting August 3, 2020

Well-paid, well-respected CFO takes over LIPA’s books

By GREGORY ZELLER // The Long Island Power Authority’s new CFO is no stranger to major-league utility operations – or to LIPA. The power authority’s Board of Trustees has named Tamela Monroe as LIPA’s new chief financial officer, an official coronation that solidifies the veteran administrator’s already-in-progress role as the regional utility’s primary accountant. Monroe – who boasts 35 years of public-power experience, including senior-level positions at two of the nation’s largest utilities – has…

Newsletters October 2, 2019

No. 442: Snoopy and Gandhi in ‘The Twilight Zone’ – and puppy love at the SBDC

Fall for it: Don’t let the thermometer fool you – it’s actually autumn, dear readers, and we’ll be bundled up soon enough! Whatever the hell Mother Nature is smoking, welcome to Wednesday, Oct. 2, as we hurdle the hump of this latest, very busy week of socioeconomic innovation. A stitch in time: To our many readers in Indonesia, a festive Batik Day, celebrating the Asian nation’s traditional cloth – officially recognized in 2009 by…

Environment August 26, 2019

After reef therapy, LI waterways feeling much better

By GREGORY ZELLER // New York State’s artificial-reef program has migrated north, with a fresh deployment of inorganic materials creating a new “marine habitat” in the Long Island Sound. One year after dumping hundreds of tons of recycled materials three miles off the South Shore – including chunks of the blowed-up-real-good Tappan Zee Bridge – Albany’s Artificial Reef Initiative is looking to increase fishing and recreational opportunities off Nassau County’s North Shore with a similar…

Newsletters August 21, 2019

No. 431: Inventing Google, superior supercomputing and just the fax, ma’am

Equatorial shift: Over the hump we go, dear readers, as we slide into the second half of this summertime workweek on Long Island and around the world (except in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s winter). Senior circuit: Whatever your season, it’s Aug. 21 out there – and to the 47 million-plus U.S. citizens ages 65 and older (according to the 2017 census), enjoy your National Senior Citizens Day. Readers of all ages can get…

Newsletters May 1, 2019

No. 401: Manufacturing optimism, planning to win and crusading in capes – plus, the importance of summer schooling

May day! Don’t panic, dear readers – it’s merely the first of May and the midpoint of another busy week of socioeconomic innovation (being Wednesday and all). For the record, with a long (and sometimes dark) history extending back thousands of years, May Day is not all maypoles and pies. Let freedom ring: Here in the 21st Century, May 1 marks Armed Forces Day in Mauritania and Constitution Day in both Argentina and Latvia….

Tourism November 12, 2018

Partners pump $18M into Jones Beach education center

By GREGORY ZELLER // The comprehensive revitalization of Jones Beach State Park will continue with the construction of a multimillion-dollar conservation-and-sustainability educational facility. The Jones Beach Energy and Nature Education Center will be a public resource for all seasons, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, which announced this week that a public-private partnership would pour some $18 million into the creation of the new center – part of an effort designating the state park’s western…

Environment August 10, 2018

With artificial reefs, loving that sinking feeling

By GREGORY ZELLER // A 744-acre site located three nautical miles off Long Island’s South Shore will become a haven for all manners of aquatic life, thanks to the deployment of recycled materials. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced the deployment of materials to create a new marine habitat at Hempstead Reef, which is now part of the largest artificial-reef expansion in state history – and part of Albany’s ongoing efforts to develop a more…

Clean Energy March 27, 2018

NYSERDA, Israeli innovators ink clean-energy pact

By GREGORY ZELLER // A new collaboration between New York State’s advanced-energy gurus and Israel’s top innovation agency will look to speed clean-energy breakthroughs to global markets. Speaking Tuesday at Advanced Energy Conference 2018 in New York City, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Hochul announced a new Memorandum of Understanding between the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Israel Innovation Authority. The partnership will “accelerate the pace of innovation in the global (clean-energy)…

Workforce January 25, 2018

In tiny houses, big hopes for LI’s manufacturing future

By GREGORY ZELLER // Educators, lawmakers and commercial interests gathered Monday for a unique technology demonstration stretching from Bellport to Puerto Rico – and to learn firsthand about an ambitious effort to reshape Long Island’s manufacturing landscape. Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY 1) begged off due to the federal government shutdown, but an impressive audience – representing state and town legislators and departments, Stony Brook University, the U.S. Green Building Council, the United Way of Long…

Environment June 2, 2017

Facing ‘reckless’ Trump, the Empire State strikes back

By GREGORY ZELLER // Despite President Donald Trump’s best efforts, the entirety of the trillion-dollar clean-energy industry won’t be leaving America for more forward-thinking lands – not if Gov. Andrew Cuomo and friends have their way. Still lamenting “the White House’s reckless decision to withdraw from the Paris accord” – an international global-warming agreement targeting worldwide greenhouse gas reductions, negotiated by 195 countries through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – Cuomo on…

Energy December 15, 2016

LI businesses charged up by low-cost juice

The New York Power Authority has approved another round of low-cost power allocations through the ReCharge NY program, with Long Island companies reaping the lion’s share of this round’s benefits. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office announced Thursday that NYPA’s Board of Directors has awarded reduced electricity rates to 11 Long Island companies through ReCharge NY, which Cuomo signed into law in 2011 to provide low-cost power to businesses that commit to job creation and new capital…