Three companies in the lower Hudson Valley will receive low-cost electricity totaling approximately 10.7 megawatts through the state”™s Recharge New York program.
New York Power Authority (NYPA) trustees recently approved the allocations in the sixth round of low-cost power awards to businesses that agree to retain or create jobs in the state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2011 signed legislation creating the Recharge New York program.
The latest statewide allocations, totaling 19.6 megawatts, were approved for 18 businesses that will create 450 jobs and retain 2,741 positions. The power allocations will support more than $446 million in capital investments by those companies, according to NYPA.
In this region, Bloomberg L.P. will receive 8 megawatts of power at its $245 million, approximately 132,000 square-foot Orangeburg Data Center under construction this summer in Rockland County The data center will create 80 jobs.
In Dutchess County, The Gap Inc. will receive 2.48 megawatts of electricity for its Fishkill distribution center, where the clothing company has committed to retaining 529 jobs and investing $4.9 million in capital, according to NYPA.
In Westchester County, Â Town Sports International L.L.C. was approved for 198 kilowatts of power for its industrial facility at 399 Executive Blvd. in Elmsford.
The power allocation will support the company”™s $1.25 million capital investment in Elmsford, where it will retain 110 jobs.
Administered by NYPA, the Recharge New York program offers power contracts of up to seven years to businesses. Half of the power, 455 megawatts, comes from the power authority”™s Niagara and St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt hydroelectric power plants. NYPA secures the remaining power at economical rates from market sources.
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, who chairs the Assembly energy committee, in a press release said the two-year-old Recharge New York initiative “is doing exactly what we expected it to do when we implemented it. It is encouraging job creation and retention by providing low-cost power to businesses that take part in the program.”
