A $26 million project to improve the Crescent and Vischer Ferry hydroelectric power facilities on the Mohawk River has been completed.
Governor Cuomo's office says these improvements will help New York move further toward the governor's Clean Energy Standard that requires that 50 percent of the state’s electricity needs to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2030.
From the Governor's Office:
NYPA purchased the Vischer Ferry and Crescent plants from the New York State Department of Transportation in 1984. It added two turbine-generators to each project in 1990, for approximately 6,000 kilowatts (kW) of combined new capacity. This preceded its 1993 overhaul of the two original turbine-generators at each facility, dating back to 1925.
The recently completed upgrades involved the newer turbine-generators. The work included refurbishing the major turbine-generator components, as well as replacing three river-flow regulating gates and two overhead cranes, both of which were nearly a century-old. NYPA is currently undertaking an engineering assessment for the overhaul of the four original turbine-generators.
The output from NYPA’s small-hydro facilities help activate locks on the Erie Canal and provide supplemental power for NYPA’s governmental customers.
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Photo: Governor Andrew Cuomo's Office