After years of negotiations and hurtles, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation allowing the sale of a block of hydropower from the New York Power Authority’s St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project.

The 20 megawatts is to be used for economic development in St. Lawrence County, but revenue generated prior to its allocation may now be used to fund local economic development projects.

The Northern New York Power Proceeds Allocation Act will generate approximately $2 million a year from the hydropower sale and will be available to qualified enterprises in support of capital investments and new jobs in the region.

The nearly $2 million in earnings will come from the sale of hydropower that in 2012 was made available to the Town of Massena to allocate to businesses in consultation with local economic development organizations, including the St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency and the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency Local Development Corporation.

The deal however will only allow for the sale of the full 20 Megawatts for the first five years. After five years of the Act’s implementation, up to 10 MW of the unallocated power will be available for sale to generate funds. However, the power may also be allocated to eligible businesses instead of sold to generate revenue at any point in time.

“We have been working for nearly four years to bring the monetized value of our economic development power to this area. We look forward to helping to maximize the local benefits from this unique new resource,” Robert O. McNeil, chairman of the St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency said.

The ability to use the proceeds of this sale for awards to eligible businesses and nonprofits in St. Lawrence County is one of the key elements included in a tentative agreement reached in December 2014 between the New York Power Authority and the St. Lawrence Local Government Task Force (LGTF), the result of the completion of a 10-year review of a settlement agreement between the two entities for the 2003 federal relicensing of the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project.

“The ability to monetize the hydropower promises to make a big difference for economic development in our area. This is a crucial facet of the tentative agreement that the task force reached with NYPA in the 10-year review of the 2003 settlement agreement for the St. Lawrence’s plant’s relicensing. The Governor’s signing of the Proceeds bill will set everything else in motion,” Joseph D. Gray, chair, St. Lawrence Local Government Task Force said.

The net earnings from the sale of up to 20 megawatts of hydropower will be used for awards to eligible businesses in St. Lawrence County through a Northern New York Economic Development Fund created by the Act. The legislation also creates a Northern New York Power Proceeds Allocation Board, whose purpose will be to make recommendations for how power is allocated based on specific criteria, including capital investments and jobs. The Board will consist of five members appointed by the Governor. NYPA trustees will consider the Board’s recommendations and award grants as they are approved.

During the first five years of the Act’s implementation, net earnings generated from the sale of up to 20 MW of hydropower into the wholesale electricity market will be available as a source of capital for qualified businesses (one MW is enough electricity to meet the needs of 800 to 1,000 typical homes). The 20 MW is drawn from hydropower previously sold to out-of-state electricity customers and redirected to New York State during the 2003 St. Lawrence-FDR project relicensing.

Patrick J. Kelly, chief executive officer of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency said ability to generate revenues from the power would be a boon for the county.

“The legislation significantly increases the tools available for bringing jobs and investments to St. Lawrence County. We appreciate Governor Cuomo's continued focus on economic development and are excited to work with the Power Authority and Empire State Development to put these resources into action.”

Jonathan Putney, chairman of the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators credited the governor for singing the legislation.

“Governor Cuomo’s signing of the Proceeds legislation marks the beginning of a new chapter in energizing our economy from the monetization of unutilized amounts of St. Lawrence power.”