Bob Liss, a Manhattan-based consulting engineer, has lived on the Island for 30 years. His e-mail address is BobLiss@nyc10044.com.

Steve Marcus, the President of the Residents Association, raised an important issue in his last RIRA column. He wants residents to consider a referendum question in the election four weeks from now: The option to either overhaul or raze the Steam Plant that sits just east of the Tram station. RIOC’s real-estate consultant, with the approval of the RIOC Board of Directors, has proposed putting the land on which the plant sits up for lease to a developer. In doing so, he suggested it’s ideal property, along with adjacent land that includes the tennis bubbles, for a "big-box retailer," and has set forth some other possible uses.

But residents should be aware that keeping and overhauling the plant – with readily available State funding – could provide significant income for the Island. It’s a golden opportunity that has been ignored by several successive RIOC administrations.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has, for years, provided financial incentives to both building owners and communities to make efficient use of energy. In the case of the steam plant, which provides heat and cooling for Coler-Goldwater Hospital, energy efficiency would involve co-generation – a process in which energy that otherwise would be wasted is used to generate electricity. The steam could also be used directly, without conversion to electricity, to heat swimming pools or building stairwells and hallways. I estimate breakeven on the necessary investments could come in as little as four years.

Considering only the electricity possibilities, Roosevelt Island’s savings could amount to over $100 per month per apartment – an amount that could be used to reduce rents, provide additional services, or support the Island’s Public Purpose Fund.

Right now, the steam plant runs at only 25% of capacity. While its mission has been to supply energy to the City-operated hospitals, it is technically "owned" by RIOC, owing to a mistake in the leasing agreement that assigned most of the Island to the State for residential development. (This could explain why the plant has never been modernized: RIOC has no stake in improving it; the City, which doesn’t own it, has little reason to fix up RIOC property.)

Even at 25% of capacity, much of the energy is wasted. That happens when used or excess steam, still loaded with energy in the form of heat, is dumped into the river. Just making practical use of that energy would be a smart move. But increasing capacity to near 100% would yield even more benefits:

• All the electrical power the Island needs.

• Excess power, fed to the grid, would produce income.

Continued failure to leverage this opportunity will produce the opposite: We can expect to pay 50% more for electricity in the near future. For many, it’s a simple choice – pay an additional $200 or more for electric power, or $100 less.

This is not science fiction. Today, at 70th Street and West End Avenue, Lincoln Towers Apartments is saving $319,500 a year using natural gas to drive local generators; the waste heat warms the building’s garage. For each of 540 apartments, the saving is nearly $600 per year. Here on Roosevelt Island, with the economy of scale represented by nearly 3,000 apartments and more to come that can be built to take best advantage of the steam plant’s possibilities, savings would be greater.

Why has RIOC never acted to take advantage of this potential? That’s a good question that could be bound up in RIOC’s "understanding" of its Roosevelt Island mission. The real-estate "consultant" who has proposed siting a "big-box retailer" on the steam-plant site would earn a substantial commission from such a deal. A developer would score big. Politicians would have an opportunity to reward a friendly contributor. And residents would gain nothing – except, perhaps, increased traffic, loss of a tennis facility, and loss of the co-generation opportunity. In short, the RIOC setup is structurally skewed against providing an advantage for residents and for providing an advantage for political friends. This could be a prime example of politics getting in the way of good sense.

But the RIOC administration is about to change. Residents must hope the steam-plant land is not sold off for development before consideration is given to a renovation that could save and earn the equivalent of $1200 per apartment per year.

That’s why the proposed RIRA election referendum question is of paramount importance. With a strong resident vote against razing and for a competent and impartial investigation of co-generation, a new Albany administration and a new RIOC administration will be on notice: Residents want good sense, not political favor, to prevail.