LIPA plans to close 2 small power plants in Nassau and Suffolk

National Grid and LIPA will shutter two small peak-power generators, one in West Babylon and another in Glenwood Landing, this year and next, and may close more depending on the outcome of tax-challenge negotiations with Nassau County, a senior LIPA official said Monday.

National Grid, which owns the plants, and LIPA, which buys all their power capacity under contract, were required to review the plants’ emissions after the state Department of Environmental Conservation last year set more stringent limits on nitrogen oxide from the plants, which are used primarily during peak demand periods during the summer. 

The vast majority of the more than two dozen peaking plants across Long Island either are now or will be compliant by the May 1, 2023, deadline set by the DEC, the companies said. They include units at National Grid’s Northport and Port Jefferson power stations, a dozen at the E.F. Barrett power station in Island Park, four at Glenwood Landing, and units at Holtsville, Wading River/Shoreham and East Hampton.

The one unit that is set to be shuttered next year at Glenwood Landing operates at 15 megawatts. The West Babylon unit set for retirement operates at 52 megawatts, and will be shuttered in December. 

Whether more units are retired in the short term will depend on how cost effective they are, including their tax burden,  the senior LIPA official said

“With declining energy demand and new clean energy projects coming online, Long Island’s older fossil fleet will be retired over time,” the senior LIPA official said. “We will evaluate the cost and reliability benefits of each unit before making additional investment determinations.”

He added, “If there are no further reductions in the taxes, we’re going to be looking to maximize the benefits to our customers and those units [at Island Park and Glenwood Landing] are not cost competitive.”

The emissions analysis does not involve National Grid's larger plants at Northport, Island Park or Port Jefferson. 

LIPA in November reached a tentative settlement with Nassau County to lower its tax payments for the Glenwood Landing and Barrett properties ($23 million and $43 million respectively) by 50% over seven years.

But the settlement is stalled after Republicans on the Nassau Legislature, which must vote to approve the payments, last week described the agreement as “in limbo” after the State Senate passed a bill that would restrict LIPA from receiving any refunds of past taxes in tax-challenge cases.

A spokeswoman for Nassau County Executive Laura Curran didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.