New York Power Authority News

A pair of first-of-their-kind passenger vessels installed with all-electric propulsion will bring Niagara Falls sightseers to experience one of the wonders of the natural world undisturbed by exhaust fumes, engine noise or vibrations.The zero-emissions ferries, named the James V. Glynn and the Nikola Tesla, respectively in honor of the Maid of the Mist chairman and the renowned energy pioneer – are the first all-electric vessels built in the U.S., with power drawn from a high-capacity battery pack supplied and integrated by ABB.

A new icebreaking tugboat built by Blount Boats in Rhode Island has been delivered to the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to work in the Niagara River to help alleviate shoreline flooding and reduce the likelihood of ice limiting the power production at large hydro plants along the Niagara River. The Breaker II joins a fleet of three boats that work every winter to install the Lake Erie—Niagara River Ice Boom—a series of 22 spans of steel pontoons that straddle the mouth of the…

Marine News recently visited the Blount Boats facility in Warren, Rhode Island. While the year 2019 might be the ‘year of the woman’ in the eyes of the International Maritime Organization, the two women at the head of Blount Boats – Marcia & Julie Blount– have been a driving force in the U.S. boatbuilding market for decades. As Blount’s celebrates its 70th anniversary, read about the storied yard’s promising future.Founded in 1949, Blount Boats is a full-service shipyard with a customer base comprised of a variety of commercial and government entities including the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S.

Sunrise Wind, a joint venture of Ørsted A/S and Eversource Energy, has signed a 25-year OREC purchase-and-sale agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).Earlier in July 2019, New York selected Sunrise Wind as the preferred bidder for an 880MW offshore wind farm (OWF).The Sunrise Wind project has an average all-in development cost of USD80.64 per MWh (2018 prices) with an expected average OREC cost of USD22.62 per MWh.Sunrise Wind is the world’s leading offshore wind developer, and Eversource, New England’s largest energy company. Subject to Ørsted’s and Eversource’s final investment decision…

Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) was contracted by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to provide naval architecture and marine engineering services to review and analyze a Canadian Coast Guard buoy for required internal ballast and mooring in order to secure the buoy moorings in tailrace waters.NYPA’s fast water warning buoys had reached the end of their life cycle. BHGI conducted a site visit at the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in Massena, NY. The purpose of the visit was to inspect…

Rhode Island shipbuilder Blount Boats said it has signed a contract with the nation’s largest state power organization to construct an icebreaking, all-welded-steel, diesel-powered, double screw tugboat.The new vessel for the New York Power Authority (NYPA) will be built to operate in seasonal ice near the entrance to and within the upper Niagara River. This vessel will replace existing vessels in the NYPA fleet currently used for the installation, removal, and maintenance of…

Vesper Marine designed its Virtual AIS Beacon in 2010 and installed the first solution in 2011. Developed to address the need to make hazards at sea visible when costly physical infrastructure is not appropriate or is impossible to deploy, the Virtual Aid to Navigation technology that Vesper Marine has created is based on the international standardized AIS, which all large ships must use and many yachts and smaller vessels are now choosing to install due to the safety and collision avoidance benefits it provides.

New York Power Authority (NYPA) had a costly and environmentally charged problem. Twice in a decade (in 2004 and 2014) a commercial tugboat dropped anchor and damaged one of its submerged power cables, a critical 7.5 mile stretch of four cables, part of its Y-49 transmission circuit in the Long Island Sound. The cables are buried 10 ft. deep under the Long Island Sound, and the repair process is time-consuming and costly, taking an estimated five to eight months and “tens of millions of dollars” to fix, according to Robert J.

Vesper Marine announced that it has provided its virtual Automatic Identification System (AIS) to New York Power Authority (NYPA) to protect submerged power cables in Long Island Sound. The WatchMate Asset Protection System is the first U.S. installation of a system combining virtual AIS technology to mark subsea cables in conjunction with highly integrated and advanced software for monitoring vessel traffic patterns whichdirectly alerts vessels to avoid anchor damage to inshore submarine infrastructure assets. The NYPA is the largest state electric utility in the U.S. The first set of cables to be monitored and protected is comprised of four independent, self-contained fluid filled cables buried in the seabed crossing Long Island Sound, providing critical power to Long Island.

NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has vetoed the Port Ambrose Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port, citing security and economic concerns along with the potential to negatively impact off-shore wind development. The project, which had been proposed by Liberty Natural Gas, LLC, required approval from both Governor Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Christie under the federal Deepwater Port Act. Governor Cuomo detailed his full position in a letter sent today to the U.S. Maritime Administration. “My administration carefully reviewed this project from all angles, and we have determined that the security and economic risks far outweigh any potential benefits,” said Governor Cuomo.

Tug Daniel Joncaire II, the first of two tugboats to be built by the Great Lakes Shipyard for New York Power Authority – Niagara Project, was commissioned during a ceremony hosted by Great Lakes Shipyard and attended by more than 200 on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. The sponsor of the commissioning ceremony was Karen W. Penale, Real Estate Administrator – Western Region, New York Power Authority – Niagara Project. “With the traditional breaking of the bottle of Champaign,” she declared, “I name this tugboat Joncaire II.

A newly built 45-foot twin-screw tug Daniel Joncaire II has been launched for the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the vessel’s designer Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) announced today. BHGI was awarded a contract by NYPA to engineer, design and perform construction supervision support services for two new tug vessels following its 2009 involvement in the design/build process for NYPA’s new barge, the Havasu II, which led to a study that compared and contrasted the initial and long-term costs to repair and update their existing tugs, or replace them.

The Great Lakes Towing Company, which operates the largest fleet of shipdocking tugboats on the U.S. Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Seaway, has announced the addition of four more tugboats to its fleet. The four newly purchased tugs will be named after four of the Great Lakes; Tug Michigan, Tug Huron, Tug Ontario and Tug Erie. The company’s Tug Superior has been in service for years, operating in the Port of Detroit. “These four tugs will be immediately added to the fleet, and provide some new life and operational stability to our day-to-day business,” said Gregg Thauvette, Vice President – Operations, The Great Lakes Towing Company. “The equipment and machinery onboard…

The Great Lakes Shipyard in Cleveland, Ohio, has been contracted by New York Power Authority (NYPA) to build and deliver two new tugboats for the Niagara Power Plant’s winter operations in Buffalo, N.Y. The new tugs will augment and replace aging vessels that are used for the installation, removal and maintenance of the Lake Erie-Niagara River Ice Boom and various associated marine construction projects. The new tugs will be specially reinforced with heavy stems and shell reinforcement for operations in seasonal ice.

Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. (BHGI) was recently awarded a contract by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to engineer, design and perform construction supervision support services for two new tug vessels. The tugs will be used primarily for deployment, retrieval and maintenance of an ice boom annually installed near the outlet of Lake Erie to help protect NYPA’s hydroelectric plant intakes on the Niagara River from heavy ice floes. The designs are expected to be completed in 2014. The vessels will be specially reinforced for operations in seasonal ice.

Construction of the East Coast’s first shore power port facility will move forward toward a 2014 completion following today’s action by the Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners. The project will create 30 jobs and result in $22 million in economic activity. At its monthly meeting, the Board authorized additional funds provided by the Empire State Development Corporation needed to complete the $19.3 million shore power port facility. The project will allow cruise ships serving the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to plug in to a more environmentally friendly electrical landside power source rather than operating on their diesel generated power while at the dock.

The Long Island–New York City Offshore Wind Collaborative, consisting of Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison), the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) filed a lease application with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE). This application furthers Governor Cuomo’s clean energy agenda. Earlier this year, the Governor announced the latest awards under New York's Renewable Portfolio Standard program, providing contracts valued at $191 million to 17 renewable energy projects statewide.

When the wicked winter weather begins to blow off Lake Erie, a shipbuilder and a crane company in Cleveland, Ohio, and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) will be glad they cooperatively commissioned and built a barge-mounted pedestal crane for the Lake Erie-Niagara River Ice Boom Operations in Buffalo, N.Y., to help reduce potential damage to hydroelectric power plants caused by Lake Erie’s inevitable ice. The NYPA asked Great Lakes Shipyard, a member of The Great Lakes Group in Cleveland, to fabricate and deliver a new 80-foot by 34-foot pedestal crane barge for the ice boom operation.

Bristol Harbor Group, Inc., (BHGI), has reached the final design phase for an 80-ft x 34-ft x 5-ft Pedestal Crane Barge design for The New York Power Authority, (NYPA). The Pedestal Crane Barge, also known as a “Floating Crane,” is currently under construction at Great Lakes Shipyard in Cleveland, OH, where BHGI is also providing construction oversight services. BHGI began by conducting an initial on-site investigation of the ice boom, and the existing Ice Boom Work Barge, HAVASU - currently in use as a work platform for NYPA personnel during install & removal of the Lake Erie Ice Boom. This investigation included a detailed review of the HAVASU, current retrieval and removal procedures, and deviations considered for the new barge.

Miller Electric Mfg. Co. will showcase a wide range of new and popular welding products, technologies and safety accessories at the FABTECH 2010 show at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, November 2 – 4. Miller’s booth this year (#6811 in Hall C) will provide attendees with product selection clarity by featuring market specific solutions designed to address the specific needs and challenges of the manufacturing, fabrication, shipbuilding, construction and commercial welding markets. 15.

The New York Power Authority’s newly constructed pedestal crane barge will be christened at Great Lakes Shipyard, Cleveland, Ohio. The christening ceremony will take place on Thursday, September 23, 2010, beginning at 11 a.m. The barge will be utilized for deployment and retrieval of an ice boom placed across the Niagara River at Buffalo New York to prevent ice from blocking the hydro-electric water intakes of the New York Power Authority. Bristol Harbor Group Inc., Bristol, Rhode Island, designed the barge for New York Power Authority and also acted as its representatives during construction. Ronald C. Rasmus, President and CEO of The Great Lakes Group, will be the ceremony’s principal speaker.