Tweedy eyes power plant for Belmont

Redevelopment plans for Belmont Park have been in the works for years, but community leaders and residents have never agreed on a potential project. Now Floral Park Mayor Thomas Tweedy has proposed the construction of a 30-megawatt natural-gas plant on a portion of the park.

In a recent letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Tweedy called on the state to consider the plan as a way to curtail the Long Island Power Authority’s high electricity rates for local customers.

The plant would produce energy for the villages of Floral Park, Bellerose, Stewart Manor and South Floral Park, though not for Elmont, which is not an incorporated village. It would also provide heat and air conditioning for all of the buildings at Belmont Park.

The state owns the 435-acre park, most of which sits in Elmont, along Hempstead Turnpike. Tweedy is seeking approval from Cuomo to take over a section of the property to construct the plant. The project would cost $36 million, and would require taking over LIPA’s wires and substations at and around the park.

In his letter, Tweedy praised Cuomo’s commitment to investigating LIPA’s effectiveness as an energy provider, and said that the new plant — which he suggested be called the Four Village Microgrid Clean Energy Co-Generational Facility at Belmont Park — would give village residents control of their power.

“Floral Park applauds your Administration’s recent public statements that the Long Island Power Authority is ‘bloated’ and needs reform,” Tweedy wrote. He also noted that residents are concerned that LIPA’s grid will be managed by the New Jersey-based Public Service Electric & Gas starting in 2014.

In the interest of keeping energy-generating capability in New York, Tweedy appealed for funding for a natural-gas plant to the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency, but was advised that Floral Park and the other villages do not qualify for funding because LIPA does not participate in the Systems Benefit Charge contribution project. The SBC provides funding “for energy programs targeting efficiency measures, research and development and the low-income sector,” according to the New York State Public Service Commission’s website.