Propel NY, clean energy, Sayville zoning, Nassau red-light fees

Skip Propel and fix our real power gap

The Propel NY Energy high voltage cable project was designed to address the current grid’s inability to move wind energy from offshore to downstate New York. When Empire Wind 2 was canceled on Jan. 3, 2024, the marketing changed to grid reliability and resiliency [“LIPA filing raises questions about Propel cable,” News, Aug. 7].

Concerns were raised in a 2023 report by the New York Independent System Operator’s independent Market Monitoring Unit — a report NYISO chose to ignore. We have now wasted years pursuing a project that no longer makes sense.

Propel will “simply shift” constrained power reliability needs within the downstate region rather than eliminate them.

Meanwhile, the shortage of generation capacity in New York is self-inflicted. In the past five years, New York has retired roughly 1,500 megawatts of net generation capacity. The Long Island Power Authority is not only scrambling to find new generation but also facing massive price increases from the Neptune cable.

It is time to cancel Propel and focus on repowering Long Island. Continuing to buy power from private equity companies will never keep prices down. The state should remove the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s constraints and let grid experts focus on building a reliable, affordable power system.

Let’s hope that they can fix it before the lights go out.

— Marc Berlin, Glen Head

Feds waste billions halting clean energy

The federal government is again robbing New Yorkers of homegrown, affordable energy by encouraging developers to abandon offshore wind projects in the region and divert funds into fossil fuel developments “Feds pay NY wind developer $1.22B to stop,” News, Aug. 7].

This time, it paid RWE U.S. Offshore $1.22 billion to abandon its offshore wind leases off New York, California, and Louisiana, walking away from projects that could have delivered seven gigawatts of inexpensive, clean power, enough for over 5 million homes.

Right here off Long Island, New York has already lost more than 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity to these buyouts, with 1,300 MW gutted in this latest deal. Meanwhile, natural gas prices are up nearly 10% this year, and our electric bills are climbing faster than inflation.

RWE is pouring that money straight into fossil fuels: $300 million into gas turbines and $900 million into a Louisiana LNG project that exports energy out of the country, leaving our reliability woes unaddressed. This brings the administration’s offshore wind buyback total to nearly $4 billion, and it isn’t stopping.

This isn’t sound energy policy. It’s a taxpayer-funded handoff of American energy independence to fossil fuel companies; New Yorkers shouldn’t foot the bill. State leaders must fight back now.

— Melissa Parrott, Sayville

The writer is executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island.

Abide by zoning for Sayville growth

Randi F. Marshall presents a positive case for South Bay Village, but it overlooks the impacts this proposal could have on Sayville [“Reaching for an affirmative in Sayville,” Opinion, Aug. 7].

The property is zoned for up to 98 single-family homes on one-acre lots. Gregg and Mitchell Rechler’s proposal is roughly six times that density. Using the New York State Department of Transportation figure of 1.94 vehicles per Suffolk County household, the development could add about 1,100 vehicles to our roads. Access is proposed via Lakeland Avenue, already congested, or Bohemia Parkway, a residential street not designed for such traffic.

The Rechlers market Sayville as a commuter community owing to the Long Island Rail Road. Even if only 12.5% of proposed households used the train, that could mean roughly 215 additional cars competing for station parking.

The “walkable” concept also deserves scrutiny. Reaching nearby shopping requires crossing four lanes of the Sunrise Highway service road — a safety concern, particularly for children and seniors. There are also questions about school, police, fire, and library capacity. The Connetquot school district has indicated that added tax revenue might not offset costs associated with additional students.

This is not NIMBYism. I support appropriate development. After years of discussion, perhaps the reasonable answer is simple: Build what is already zoned.

— Kevin Kennedy, Sayville

Motorists trapped by the county’s logic

How misleading is Nassau County’s legal team to argue that while the fees may have been illegal, drivers paid them “voluntarily” [“In Nassau County, no refunds for you!,” Letters, Nov. 7].

According to New York State law, refusing to pay violations, including parking tickets, may lead to a hold on one’s registration renewal until the fines are paid.

I know of no drivers who would voluntarily risk that. Do you?

For Nassau County, it’s not about what is right or wrong — it’s about money. We’re not surprised, are we?

— Mark Herzog, Rockville Centre