Jul. 21--RAY BROOK -- Among unfinished Senate business is the appointment of a new Adirondack Park Agency commissioner.

Francis William "Bill" Valentino, former president of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, has been recommended by Gov. David Paterson to the Senate.

Sen. Betty Little's (R-Queensbury) spokesman Dan Mac Entee said Valentino's name is among appointments pending Senate action.

Valentino from Delmar would take an out-of-park seat now held by James Townsend, an attorney first appointed to APA's board by former Gov. George Pataki in 1999.

Townsend's term expired on June 30.

From the Capital Region, Valentino led NYSERDA beginning in 1992 through several technological era transitions in the mid-1990s into the early 2000s.

Among achievements by the state's energy authority at the time was a push for industrial business projects in upstate New York.

In 1997, Cornell University established a controlled-environment greenhouse funded in part by NYSERDA to grow hydroponic lettuce, a project Valentino touted then as a way to extend the Upstate New York growing season.

In 1998, he helped develop a project to remove phosphorous from Lake Champlain by championing a method to use effluent from the Lake Placid wastewater treatment plant on the Lake Placid Resort golf course. The project was hailed as a low-energy solution.

In 1999, the American Wind Energy Association gave Valentino and NYSERDA a state leadership award for efforts to commercialize innovative wind and solar energy products; and for "facilitating development of a detailed wind-mapping system" to help developers site wind energy projects.

He was appointed to the Low-level Radioactive Waste Forum by Pataki in 1995.

His credentials on that forum show he received a degree from Long Island University, a master's degree from University of West Florida and is a graduate of the U.S. Armed Forces Command and General Staff College. He also was president of the board for the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy; a member of the National Advisory Board of Electric Power Research Institute's Community Environmental Center; and a member of the Aspen Institute for the Humanities' Energy Forum.

Valentino is past chairman of the Government Advisory Board to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Valentino serves now on the Advisory Board for the Lighting Technology Greenhouse, which is part of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, the leading university-based research center dedicated to lighting.

"The Lighting Technology Greenhouse (LTG) program is a collaborative effort between the Lighting Research Center and Linc, a not-for-profit corporation, created through funding by NYSERDA," said spokeswoman Mary Cimo.

"We conduct research into energy efficiency, new products and technologies, lighting design, and human factors issues. Our mission is to advance the effective use of lighting for society and the environment. LTG is designed to offer business assistance and networking opportunities to help bridge the gap in lighting commercialization so that new, sustainable lighting technologies get to market faster."

Cimo said Valentino is an active member of their advisory committee.

"The Lighting Research Center is fortunate to be able to draw from Mr. Valentino's experience in and lifetime commitment to energy efficiency and the environment."

The appointment will go before the next session of the State Senate, which isn't scheduled until October, though some officials anticipate a special session in late August or September.

The in-park APA commissioner's seat held by Arthur Lussi also expired on June 30.

It is not uncommon for commissioners to remain working on the board until they are either reappointed or replaced.

E-mail Kim Smith Dedam at:

kdedam@pressrepublican.com

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