The New York Power Authority invested about $110 million in energy efficiency and clean energy projects during 2006, breaking the Authority’s previous one-year record of $103.8 million, set in 2001.

NYPA set the new record in a year in which it also passed the $1 billion mark for total investments in energy efficiency and clean energy initiatives since the late 1980s.

“These two milestones demonstrate the Power Authority’s firm commitment to ensuring a reliable power supply while improving the environment and cutting our dangerous dependence on foreign oil,” NYPA President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy Carey said.  “This has been a banner year for us in these areas, and we intend to build on the solid foundation that’s in place.”

Carey said that NYPA’s annual investments in energy efficiency and clean technologies such as fuel cells and solar power have more than doubled during Gov. George E. Pataki’s 12 years in office.  He said Pataki initiatives, including an executive order establishing ambitious targets for energy savings and use of renewable energy in state facilities, had given impetus to the Authority’s efforts.

In 2006, the Power Authority directed funding to more than 250 projects at government buildings, schools, police stations and other public facilities throughout the state. NYPA typically recovers its costs by sharing in the savings in energy bills that result from its initiatives, after which program participants retain all the savings.

The Authority, which uses no tax dollars, finances its energy efficiency and clean energy projects principally with commercial paper notes.

NYPA’s record total in 2006 reflects expenditures on projects that began during the year or were already in progress.  Some of the projects were completed in 2006, while others will continue, requiring additional funding.

The largest 2006 investment, more than $19 million, was for a project to replace four boilers and about 25,000 feet of hot water distribution piping at New York City’s North River Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Hudson River in Upper Manhattan.  The project, which began in 2005 and is scheduled for completion in 2007, is expected to ultimately cost about $37 million.