This content in this article is sponsored by Northern Power and Light.
Thank you for supporting the local businesses that support our work at Glens Falls Living.
Have you heard about Northern Power & Light? They’re making a splash around town with their mission to connect energy users directly to new and existing local renewable resources, and we’re excited to spread the word! We caught up with the team at NP&L to hear more about the inspiration for starting the company, how hydroelectricity works, the benefits, how you can be a part of it, and more…
Warrensburg Hydro Facility • Image Courtesy of Northern Power & Light
A Bit of Background
Northern Power & Light is an independent renewable energy company based in Saranac Lake. We [brothers Emmett and Ethan Smith] founded the company with Louise Gava in 2018. It began with the purpose of connecting small-scale renewable energy generators in the North Country with local energy consumers using New York’s Community Distributed Generation system.
Our family has a background in electricity, and the first generator to have its power offered through the new platform was Azure Mountain Power, which was built by our father Everett and uncle Matt Foley in the early 1990’s. Azure Mountain Power is a 750 kW hydroelectric dam on the St. Regis River in St. Regis Falls.
Prior to founding Northern Power & Light, Emmett was the Curator at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York, and Ethan co-founded and co-owned a successful restaurant in Manhattan, Hecho en Dumbo, with his friend Danny Mena. Louise Gava was working for the Municipal Electric and Gas Alliance on a semi-related program. She now works in the energy industry and is a silent partner in Northern Power & Light.
On Starting Northern Power & Light
We have been around hydro since we were kids, but it had never been our focus.
In 2014, a large flood partially collapsed Azure Mountain Power’s old timber crib structure. The low and volatile price of power did not support financing a new concrete dam, so working as a family, we built a new timber crib. Emmett left his job at the museum to devote his time to the project, and that experience refocused his attention on the power plant and how it wasn’t financially viable at the current prices the utility company offered.
With so many new developments in the power business and New York’s support of renewable energy, it seemed like there must be a better way. After studying Energy Regulation at Vermont Law School, Emmett participated in a series of working groups in Albany developing the Community Distributed Generation program, which Northern Power & Light now uses. We [Ethan, Louise and Emmett] then developed the final business model. Louise was already working in the industry and brought essential knowledge about the regulatory landscape, while Ethan had experience in founding and running a business.
Financially, we knew we had to find a better way to support the local renewable resources, knowing how this existing infrastructure is important for both the economy of the North Country but also for the State’s Climate Goals. New York State’s Community Distributed Generation program allows the sale of community renewables like solar but also hydroelectricity directly to customers.
Azure Mountain Power was Northern Power & Light’s first project, but from the beginning it was clear we would need to grow beyond one small facility. In 2021, we partnered with Boralex Hydro to build a Community Distributed Generation program around Sissonville Hydro, their 3.1MW power plant on the Raquette River in Potsdam, New York.
Warrensburg is Northern Power & Light’s third project, bringing us to a new part of the North Country. For Boralex, based in South Glens Falls, it is fun to be doing a community project in their own backyard.
Inside the Warrensburg Hydro Facility • Image Courtesy of Northern Power & Light
On Making Connections
We do not own any hydro plants ourselves. Our business is the connector between plant owners and National Grid customers, making sure that folks in the upper and lower Adirondack region can access local, renewable, hydroelectricity.
We currently work with three plants: Azure Mountain Power in St. Regis Falls, which is owned by Emmett and Ethan’s father, Everett Smith. Sissonville Hydro is located in Potsdam and is owned by Boralex, as is the plant in Warrensburg that we are currently partnering with for the Glens Falls Community Hydro Project.
Azure Mountain Power in St. Regis Falls • Image Courtesy of Northern Power & Light
How It Works
The Glens Falls Community Hydro Project is a partnership between Boralex, Northern Power & Light, and the municipality of Glens Falls.
Northern Power & Light uses Community Distributed Generation, a New York State program, to sell locally generated hydroelectricity directly to National Grid customers, at no extra cost.
Long story short, folks can sign up for free, pay the same amount for power they’re already paying, with the same service they’re used to, support renewable energy, and support a local company — all while helping Glens Falls qualify for sustainability grants in the future.
When a customer signs up, we review their past electric bills and allocate them a portion of the plant’s power. Every month, a customer still receives a bill from National Grid, but they see a credit from Northern Power & Light. The customer pays their generator via Northern Power & Light for the power they receive.
The customer is still serviced by National Grid, but their energy dollars are now supporting local renewable hydroelectricity. Northern Power & Light customers have an online dashboard where they can keep track of the power they received and make payments, though most customers use our auto-pay option to save time.
Signing up though our website www.npandl.com or via our customer service line is very easy. You just need your name, phone number, email, address, and National Grid account number.
There is no long term commitment. If a customer decides to cancel service or is moving, they just notify us via phone or mail and we start the process of disenrolling from the program.
Warrensburg Hydro Facility • Image courtesy of Northern Power & Light
On The Benefits
Electricity is a resource that everyone relies on, but most sources of power have hidden costs, especially to the global climate.
Unlike electricity generated by coal or oil, hydroelectricity does not produce any carbon dioxide. Climate change is caused primarily by a buildup of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.
People who are conscious of their climate impact are increasingly looking for carbon-neutral sources for the things they rely on. Hydroelectricity is not only carbon-free, but it is already integrated into our communities and our landscape.
We believe that the most efficient option is to maintain what you already have, and in this region that means our existing hydro facilities.
This also means that when people buy hydro power through Northern Power & Light, they are investing directly in their community, supporting local business and local infrastructure.
Hydroelectricity is a very old form of electricity generation and here in the North Country, “run of the river” hydroelectric plants (like the three that we work with) are the first forms of electricity generation for our region. Maintaining this existing local energy infrastructure is essential to helping the state meet its climate neutrality goals, but also supports a long-existing and established local industry.
At no change in cost, switching to NP&L is a very simple and cost effective way to make that switch. And not only that, but it keeps your dollars in your community and makes for a more resilient economy but also electrical grid. We believe that these existing hydroelectric plants are important resources, and we want to keep them active for another hundred years.
On A Partnership with The City of Glens Falls
The City of Glens Falls is not just a customer of Northern Power & Light, running on clean, sustainable locally-produced energy. They have actually partnered with Northern Power & Light to bring the City to the next level.
The City of Glens Falls was designated a Bronze Certified Climate Smart Community in 2021. Climate Smart Communities (CSC) is a New York State program wherein communities complete and report on a wide range of sustainability and climate actions in order to earn a designation.
The CSC Committee of Glens Falls has been approved by the state CSC program to run a Community Campaign promoting community hydroelectricity with Northern Power and Light. We are calling this the City of Glens Falls Community Hydro Project.
We need 169 residents and businesses inside the village to sign up for community hydroelectricity with Northern Power and Light. When we reach this goal, the City of Glens Falls will earn $40,000 in grant funding to support additional Climate Smart Initiatives for the city.
We’re also working with the city to provide electricity to 70 residents who meet Low to Middle Income (LMI) requirements. This isn’t something we are required to do, but it’s something we feel good about doing in order to give back to the community.
These residents will receive a 25% discount on their electricity bill and their households will count towards the total number of qualified residents that meet the City’s CSC Goal.
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Interested in learning more about City of Glens Falls Community Hydro Project and want to ask questions before you consider signing up? Join them for a casual happy hour event at EDC Warren County on the second floor of the Empire Theater on South Street on Thursday, December 14 from 4:30-6pm! The event is free - learn more and sign up here!
