New York, Canada extend agreement on management of hydropower project on St. Lawrence River

The New York Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation have agreed to a 15-year extension of the shared management of the Moses-Saunders Power Dam.

The structure spans the St. Lawrence River between Northern New York and Ontario.

The collaboration in the extended agreement involves the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project in Massena and the R.H. Saunders Generating Station in Cornwall, Ontario, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Friday news release.

The ceremony for the joint-agreement signing happened during Friday’s 60th anniversary celebration of the American and Canadian hydroelectric-power projects at the Moses-Saunders Dam.

“The Moses-Saunders Dam is an engineering marvel that provides clean, renewable hydropower to New Yorkers across this great state as well as to our Canadian neighbors,” Cuomo said in the release. “This renewed partnership will continue to benefit future generations of New Yorkers and Canadians by providing a reliable and sustainable source of clean energy.”

The joint-works agreement outlines the shared responsibilities of the New York Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation in jointly managing the hydroelectric-power dam. The responsibilities include monitoring water flow, implementing maintenance practices and sharing equipment and services.

“For decades, we have worked with our American counterparts to generate clean power from the St. Lawrence River in an environmentally and socially conscious manner. I’m proud of the hard work by the women and men that worked at the station to keep it running safely and reliably over the last 60 years,” Jeffrey Lyash, president and CEO of Ontario Power Generation, said in Cuomo’s release.

More than 70 percent of the electricity the New York Power Authority produces is “clean, renewable” hydropower, with roughly 30 percent of that coming from the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, Cuomo’s office said.

The project stretches over the St. Lawrence River Valley for more than 30 miles and includes two control dams upstream and 16 turbine-generators. The project also includes thousands of acres of public parkland along the river for recreational enjoyment and wildlife preservation, per the news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com