Apr 24 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Marc Heller Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.


As Congress considers ways to boost renewable energy, one big source in Northern New York -- the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project in Massena -- does not count.

Lawmakers are closing in on legislation that would largely leave out hydroelectric production as a renewable energy source, a move that would encourage less-established sources such as wind or solar but give New York and other states a steeper climb to meet new federal standards.

About 19 percent of New York's electricity comes from hydroelectric plants, Gov. David A. Paterson's office reported. Hydro accounts for a big share of the renewable energy in the state, perhaps as much as 90 percent, proponents say.

"It's a renewable resource," said Jeffrey Leahey, senior manager of government affairs for the National Hydropower Association, which is pressing as big a role as possible for hydro in the mix of alternative energy the federal government is seeking. "Frankly, that balance can be difficult."

Excluding hydro from the standard will drive up the cost of electricity in the state, say critics of the legislation drafted in the Senate and House. Committees could vote on the bills in the next few weeks, setting up debates this summer on a final package. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding hearings this week on the legislation, which attacks climate change and energy.

The bills' defenders say the point is to encourage a wider range of electricity sources, and including existing hydro production detracts from the goal.

But Congress does give hydro plants a nod by letting officials exclude those plants' production in a state's "base" of electric production to meet the new standard; a smaller base means a state does not have to generate as much power from alternative sources to meet the new standard, which is 20 percent renewable in the Senate bill and 25 percent renewable in the House version.

And new hydro plants could be counted toward the standard. Another question, Mr. Leahey said, is how lawmakers will treat existing dams that do not generate electricity. If hydroelectric plants could be added, he said, that would help states meet the standard.

The New York Power Authority, which operates the St. Lawrence-FDR project as well as the Niagara Power Project, has not lobbied heavily on the issue in Washington but has invested heavily at those facilities in recent years in advance of federal relicensing.

The Power Authority spent $254 million upgrading the St. Lawrence project, which obtained a new 50-year license in 2003.

Depending on the outcome of legislation, the new renewable electricity standard could be in place by 2025. However, skeptics in Congress say that timetable may be too fast for states to meet.

The legislation reflects Democrats' efforts to act quickly on global warming and on President Obama's pledge to reduce the nation's reliance on fossil fuels and imported oil. Republican critics say the reductions are too costly.

Rep. John M. McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor, is waiting for a bill to come into better focus before taking a position, said his spokeswoman, Stephanie Valle.

Mr. Paterson's office is making the case to lawmakers that the proposed federal standard and the state's own renewable energy standard should match as closely as possible.

On the hydro issue, they do not; New York counts existing hydro toward its renewable portfolio standard of 25 percent.

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