Hauppauge park plans energy-saving project

The Hauppauge Industrial Association-Long Island on Thursday announced plans to conduct the most widespread energy-conservation project ever at the Hauppauge Industrial Park, the largest such facility on the East Coast, aimed at lowering skyrocketing costs by 15 percent annually.

Developer Jack Kulka, an HIA-LI founder, said the business group will be joined in the effort by LIPA, National Grid and Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Department of Energy.

The 1,300 companies in the industrial park will be offered free energy audits, Kulka said, along with suggestions on ways to conserve, such as improving lighting.

If they upgrade to better systems, they should see "payback" results in less than a year, Kulka said. "No one has ever sat down with these 1,300 companies and said, 'These are the things you need to do,' " Kulka said. Calls will go out to the companies about the audits in a few weeks.