The Long Island Power Authority approved two utility-scale battery energy storage contracts on Wednesday, Dec. 18 — a 50-megawatt project on LIPA’s property that had formerly been slated to become the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, and a 79-megawatt facility on Rabro Drive in Hauppauge.
Pictured Above: The Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, which never began commercial operation, is on a site still owned by the Long Island Power Authority, which is contracting with Key Capture Energy to build a Battery Energy Storage System there.
Both projects are proposed by Key Capture Energy, a company that has in the past proposed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) on the East End. LIPA announced Wednesday that both are slated to use lithium iron phosphate batteries, a technology that is believed in the industry to be less volatile and less prone to fire risk than the lithium ion batteries being used in many BESS facilities operating today.
LIPA said these two projects have incorporated recommendations issued “to date” by the New York State Interagency Fire Working Group in response to three BESS fires involving lithium ion batteries in 2023, including one in East Hampton.
These contracts are in response to LIPA’s 2021 Bulk Storage Request for Proposals, in which the utility company planned to procure about 175 megawatts of new bulk energy storage contracts in response to the clean energy goals of the state’s 2019 Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act.
“These facilities will be critical as the needs of the local electric grid are changing – in preparation for additional offshore wind generation and the retirements of existing fossil fuel peaking plants,” according to LIPA. “The electric grid will need flexible solutions that can respond quickly when needed, given the intermittency of renewable generation, and discharge during peak demand hours to enhance reliability.”
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act set a target to have 70 percent of the state’s electricity produced by renewable sources by 2030, and 100 percent by 2040. It also set a target of 3,000 megawatts of statewide energy storage by 2023, which has since been expanded to 6,000 megawatts by the New York Public Service Commission.
“Energy storage is essential to delivering reliable and affordable power as we increasingly switch to renewable energy sources and electrify our buildings and transportation systems,” said John Rhodes, Acting Chief Executive Officer of LIPA, in the announcement of the contracts. “Integrating storage in the electric grid, especially in areas with high energy demand, will allow clean energy to be available when and where it is most needed. These projects are critically valuable for our electric grid and will be valuable additions to our power supply portfolio. These contract approvals now allow the developer, Key Capture Energy, to proceed with seeking final approval from the Towns of Brookhaven and Islip.”
The “KCE NY 31” project is being developed on the 57-acre site of the decommissioned Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, which LIPA owns. The property has an on-site electrical substation and is the landing site for the 330-megawatt Cross Sound Cable, which brings energy from suppliers in Connecticut to Long Island.
Over the 20-year contract, the utility says the cost of the Shoreham project to the average residential ratepayer will be $0.11 per month. The project will connect to the Shoreham Substation and is expected to be completed by 2028.
The Hauppauge site, known as “KCE NY 29,” would be at 220 Rabro Drive, just east of Wheeler Road in an industrial park, on the site of an existing 52,000-square-foot building that is slated to be demolished for the construction of the BESS. The site is in Islip Town, which currently is under a temporary moratorium on BESS development as the state updates its guidelines. Key Capture Energy has requested a hardship exemption from this moratorium.
According to LIPA, the cost to the average LIPA residential ratepayer over the 20-year contract will be $0.19 per month, and a “12-foot-high barrier wall will be installed to serve as a sound barrier and landscaping will be added around the perimeter to further reduce its visibility.”
The project will connect to the Kings Substation and is expected to be completed by 2028.
Key Capture Energy is no stranger to the East End — the company proposed a 60 megawatt BESS facility on Oregon Road in Cutchogue in late 2022, and after public backlash, the Southold Town Board instated a moratorium on review of BESS applications while it worked to draft code to address siting of them. That moratorium is still in place today as the town overhauls its zoning code.
Southampton Town has also instated a BESS moratorium in response to a 100 megawatt project proposed there, and is expected to introduce legislation shortly to limit the size of BESS systems there to 5 megawatts unless they are tied into a solar array, in which case they could be up to 20 megawatts.
Environmentalists applauded LIPA’s awarding of contracts.
“Long Island is on the front lines of climate change. We must transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, including wind, solar, and battery energy storage,” said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE). “CCE applauds LIPA for approving the contracts for two Battery Energy Storage Systems, which will assist our critical transition away from dirty, polluting peaking plants while creating a more resilient energy grid and delivering renewable power to Long Island homes. We will not achieve our climate goals without good battery energy storage projects like these. CCE thanks LIPA for their continued leadership in embracing renewable projects that protect our communities, environment, and economy.”
“As New York moves off of polluting fossil fuels and onto clean, renewable energy, it is critical that we also build out a robust network of battery energy storage systems to ensure our green grid is as reliable as it is robust,” agreed New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe. “We congratulate Key Capture Energy on the approval of their Hauppauge and Shoreham projects and we applaud LIPA for their ongoing commitment to the clean energy transition.”
LIPA says both projects have already undergone environmental review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, with the utility acting as the lead agency, and Key Capture Energy and PSEG Long Island, LIPA’s service provider, “have conducted public outreach for both projects, including with local fire marshals and hazmat coordinators. The contracts will now be sent to the New York State Attorney General and Office of State Comptroller for approval before state and local permits can be issued.”
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Sounds like more dumping of toxic lithium ion batteries that will eventually seep into our ground water! That’s why Brookhaven has such a high level of cancer. Stop the madness!