New energy sources for LI under review

A supersized battery, a sprawling offshore wind farm and super-efficient power plants linked to miles-long extension cords are among the projects vying to power Long Island in the next generation.

A virtual transformation of Long Island's energy sources is under review by consultants for LIPA, with the prospect of cleaner, more efficient generators and cables edging out antiquated plants. The new sources must be available to provide power between 2016 and 2018. Because there are more than 45 proposals to review, the deadline to finish the work has been pushed back a second time, to late summer, from June.

Long Island Power Authority trustees will be presented with a short list of new sources to consider and approve -- the end of a two-year process aimed at placing up to 2,500 megawatts, nearly a third of the capacity needed to serve LIPA's 1.1 million customers, onto the system.

At the same time, LIPA is negotiating to extend or renew a contract with National Grid, the British company that owns the 17 plants that are the prime sources of power here. LIPA and National Grid have determined that two plants -- Far Rockaway and Glenwood Landing -- will be decommissioned this summer. LIPA has the right under contract to retire or decline to accept another 1,167 megawatts from National Grid by May 2013.

Experts say it's likely the proposals include a plan to upgrade at least one existing National Grid plant or build a new generator on land that currently houses an antiquated plant.

Ratepayers may not see visible changes once the new sources are online, said Paul DeCotis, LIPA's vice president of power markets and a former secretary of energy for New York State. But the changes behind the scenes will be significant.

"We are working to update and modernize our fleet of resources," he said, adding that improved efficiency and environmental considerations are paramount. Combined cycle natural gas plants are considerably more efficient than older, existing Long Island plants, recycling steam to squeeze more power and relying less or not at all on local waterways to cool down.

As of last year, there were 46 different projects vying for a place in LIPA's energy portfolio. Some didn't meet LIPA's requirements and have dropped out. LIPA won't discuss any specifically, and many of the companies have also declined to discuss them.

Among the proposals:

A large-scale battery that can store 400 megawatts of power during off-peak hours, making it available to lower stress on the system during peak hours.

A 200-turbine wind-farm project off the coast of Rhode Island that proposes a connection to Long Island via an undersea cable to Shoreham.

A larger version of the Caithness power plant in Yaphank called Caithness II, expected to more than double its current 350-megawatt capacity.

Possibly a second Atlantic Ocean power cable.

Regardless of how its negotiations with National Grid are concluded, LIPA has said it will need at least one new source of power, up to 50 megawatts, by 2016 to meet increased demand. Environmentalists have long said that LIPA should be working to sharply cut demand, but DeCotis said it's LIPA's official responsibility to meet reliability measures and demand requirements.

Navigant Consulting and Levitan Associates have spent months examining the new power proposals, fitting them into conceptual models of the LIPA system with the help of National Grid to make certain they are viable, cost-effective and environmentally sound, officials said. The review also will weed out any risky proposals. Last year, LIPA approved $1.8 million in its budget for the review, which was higher than expected because many more proposals were received than anticipated. "It's extremely complicated, especially trying to balance that and renegotiate a contract with National Grid," energy expert Matthew Cordaro said.

Some of the contractors have proposed power projects on Long Island, or have existing LIPA relationships.

NextEra Energy Resources, with ties to Florida Power & Light, generates about half of its total 16,000 megawatts of power from wind. The company is also affiliated with FPL Energy, which operates the Marcus Hook plant that supplies capacity to LIPA via the Neptune cable. FPL was also the company that proposed the Jones Beach wind farm that has since been scuttled. NextEra also generates power from gas-fired plants and nuclear energy, with smaller holdings in solar, hydropower and oil-fueled plants.

LIPA is also expected to work with the state after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo proposed a north-south energy highway to bring abundant energy from upstate to lower New York.

"The energy highway can't end at the border of Long Island," said Jerry Kremer, an attorney and energy expert at Empire Government Strategies, a group that is lobbying for a Caithness proposal. "There has to be some planning for what the Island's needs are."

AES Energy Storage, based in Arlington, Va., wants to build a bank of batteries capable of storing 400 megawatts of power on Long Island -- enough to power tens of thousands of homes. If approved, the lithium-based battery bank would eliminate the need to build another plant or lay an undersea cable.

Deepwater Wind is the company that wants to offer up to 600 megawatts of a planned Rhode Island-based offshore wind farm. Officials this week said the proposal remains active, though intermittent energy from wind and the need for cables and backup power from New England plants could pose challenges.

Environmentalists are behind proposals to build one or more wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean. "The wind farm would be a meaningful long-term investment," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, adding it would add "stability to our rate base" in the face of volatile oil pricing.