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NYPA approves hydropower allocations to Amazon, Micron, others

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NYPA approves hydropower allocations to Amazon, Micron, others
Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant (photo courtesy NYPA)

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the New York Power Authority Board of Trustees approved economic development awards to 22 firms that will spur more than $20 billion in capital investments and support 8,336 jobs.

Included among the approved items is a 10.7 MW allocation of hydropower from NYPA’s 2,675 MW Niagara Power Project in western New York to Amazon and a ReCharge NY power allocation to Micron, a memory and storage manufacturer and semiconductor producer. The Amazon allocation will support its construction of a $550 million e-commerce storage and distribution center in the Town of Niagara that will receive, store, package and fulfill online customer orders. The project will lead to the creation of 1,000 new, permanent, full time-time jobs at the facility in addition to hundreds of new construction jobs.

The NYPA board also awarded more than 150 MW of low-cost power under its ReCharge NY program, including a 140 MW low-cost power allocation to Micron. Additionally, the board approved 404 MW of high load factor power that NYPA will procure for Micron on the energy market. Governor Hochul announced Micron’s decision to build a new megafab in Onondaga County in October 2022. In August 2022, Governor Hochul signed the first-in-the-nation Green CHIPS legislation aimed at creating jobs, kick-starting economic growth and maintaining important environmental protections while making New York a hub for semiconductor manufacturing.

The NYPA board also approved a 250 kW low-cost hydropower allocation to the Village of Greene in Chenango County under the Industrial Economic Development program. Cocojune, a New York-based food company that specializes in producing organic coconut yogurt, will construct a new facility in the Village of Greene. This hydropower allocation will support Cocojune’s expansion, spurring nearly $700,000 in capital investments and creating 24 jobs. The Industrial Economic Development Program is comprised of 54 MW of the more than 768 MW of hydropower allocated to the 51 municipal and rural electric cooperative systems around New York. Power under the program is allocated to individual municipal systems to meet the increased electric load resulting from eligible new or expanding businesses in their service area.

Low-cost power through the ReCharge NY program was allocated to the remaining applicants, companies in the Capital District, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, North Country, New York City, Central New York, Western New York, Hudson Valley and on Long Island.

Low-cost Niagara hydropower is available for companies within a 30-mile radius of the Niagara Power Project or businesses in Chautauqua County.

“These transformative economic development awards to Amazon, Micron and other businesses across the state will create thousands of jobs and spur billions in economic activity,” Governor Hochul said. “New York continues to secure its legacy as the most business-friendly and worker-friendly state in the nation, while advancing the aggressive goals of our nation-leading climate agenda — creating a greener, more prosperous Empire State.”

New York State’s climate agenda calls for an orderly and just transition that creates family-sustaining jobs, continues fostering a green economy across all sectors and ensures that at least 35%, with a goal of 40%, of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities. New York is on a path to achieving a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70% renewable energy generation by 2030, and economywide carbon neutrality by mid-century. A cornerstone of this transition is New York’s clean energy investments, including more than $35 billion in 120 large-scale renewable and transmission projects, $6.8 billion to reduce building emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.8 billion in NY Green Bank commitments.

NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the U.S., operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 80% of the electricity NYPA produces is clean, renewable hydropower.