SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Timothy S. Carey, New York Power Authority (NYPA) president and chief executive officer, said that green building technologies that have been used by NYPA and others in commercial buildings can be successfully applied to schools, with significant educational benefits.

Carey told school administrators, architects, and engineers attending a seminar on Green and Sustainable Schools that the advantages of green buildings, including lower operating costs and improved health and productivity of occupants, “are directly relevant to every school in this state, and indeed throughout the nation.

“Every dollar that a school district doesn’t spend on electricity, or heat, or water can be spent for purely educational purposes,” Carey said. “And every day not lost to absenteeism by a student or teacher is a day for learning, for achievement, and for growth.”

Carey noted that the Power Authority’s administrative office building in White Plains recently became the first facility in the state of New York to achieve a Gold-EB designation, the second highest rating under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for existing buildings.

He told the school officials that NYPA is prepared to work with them through its “Power to Schools” program, established through legislation enacted in 2004, to earn LEED designations for their facilities.

“My goal is to make the Power Authority the cleanest and greenest electric utility in the United States,” said Carey, a member of the Green Building Council’s national board of directors for 2007.

“Beyond even that, I believe that we, as a government entity, must show the way in helping others to pursue their own green initiatives and in creating a robust market for green technologies and products. I can think of no more appropriate partners in this endeavor than the state’s schools.”

In discussing Power to Schools, Carey noted that the 2004 legislation authorizes NYPA to help all of the state’s public and private schools carry out energy efficiency projects, install clean energy technologies, and buy economical electricity in the competitive state markets.

He said the program enables the Power Authority to work with private schools for the first time and affirms its ability to assist public schools, including those that don’t use NYPA electricity. In addition, he said, the initiative formalizes a partnership between NYPA and the State Education Department to advance energy efficiency and clean-energy projects.

Hosts for the seminar were the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the Manufacturers Association of Central New York, and the Syracuse City School District.

Publication date:04/02/2007