By Howard Goldstein
With electricity consumption at an all-time high and expected to increase, keeping the lights on while balancing pollution and quality-of-life concerns has led LIPA to seek alternative energy sources and shared electricity from mainland power grids to supplement local power plants.
Long Islanders pay some of the highest electric bills in the nation. But with a burgeoning population, a fragile ecosystem on the South Shore, a huge Nassau County deficit and serious health concerns about power plants, the Island must weigh its options carefully in determining its next energy source.
Additionally, decreasing the nation's dependence on foreign energy sources has become an important economic and security issue.
Two years ago, peak electricity use on Long Island was nearly 5,000 megawatts. Last year it rose to over 6,000 megawatts, and it's expected to climb again this year.
Last year's proposal by Neptune Regional Transmission Systems LLC to construct an undersea cable that would connect the Northeast power grid to a converter station at Cedar Creek County Park was effectively killed by local civic groups. Meanwhile, Freeport Power Plant No. 2, which supplied electricity (but also airborne carcinogens) just west of Merrick, was finally shut down after 30 years of community protest.
Wind and solar energy projects are in the works, and LIPA is encouraging the construction of an undersea cable at a location other than Cedar Creek.
One wind-energy company now vying for a LIPA contract, Bluewater Wind, sent representatives to the hearing. Two energy concerns, TransEnergie and Neptune, are currently negotiating with LIPA for an undersea cable contract, and TransEnergie representatives also appeared at the hearing.
Kathleen Whitley of the Sustainable Energy Alliance and local leaders were on hand as well for the session, which took place at the Legislature in Mineola.
LIPA
Calling on LIPA, Nassau County and environmental groups to work together to solve the Island's energy crisis, LIPA Chairman Richard Kessel, of Merrick, identified three key elements in keeping the county supplied with electricity: conservation, regeneration and transmission.
"We need the resources to withstand a heat wave," Kessel said. "Our society is now dependent upon electricity, and residents demand an adequate power supply even as consumption skyrockets. Right now we're in good shape, but we are worried about a scenario in which we have a summer heat wave. Under those conditions, at present output, it would be very tight. We have to be able to keep everyone's lights and air-conditioners on during the hottest day of the year this summer."
The challenge, Kessel said, is to do that while stabilizing electric rates and rehabilitating an aging -- and in many cases outdated -- infrastructure.
LIPA took over from the Long Island Lighting Company as the Island's primary energy supplier five years ago. According to Kessel, LILCO had not built a power plant on Long Island in 30 years. The existing plants were insufficient to meet growing demand for power, and owing to archaic technology, they spewed pollution and were often seen as severe public health risks.
Under LILCO, said Kessel, Long Island had the nation's highest electric bills and worst service. As a result, LIPA has had to concentrate on repairing and rebuilding its energy-production system, leaving less time and money for long-range energy planning as the organization strives to keep the juice flowing through heat waves and blizzards.
On the conservation end, Kessel noted existing LIPA rebates for energy-efficient appliances, solar panels and fuel-cell technology. LIPA's goal is to have 20,000 roofs with solar panels by 2010, he said.
Kessel also spoke about negotiations that are under way for the world's first fuel-cell power plant on Long Island, but gave no further information.
The first offshore wind project in North America, off Jones Beach, is currently being negotiated by developers. Undersea electric cables are another potential source of power. Right now, Long Island has only five transmission lines to the mainland, and they are often bottlenecked through New York City.
The Cross Sound Cable, though built, supplies no electricity owing to Connecticut's refusal to transmit power to Long Island. New York may soon take legal action to force Connecticut to send the Island power.
TransEnergie, which built the Cross Sound Cable, and Neptune are separately negotiating with LIPA to build a South Shore undersea cable that would supply, at minimum, an additional 500 megawatts of power to Long Island. (One megawatt lights 1,000 homes.) The cable would run through Jones Inlet and Merrick Bay, according to current proposals.
The cable or cables that are to be built would be owned by the developers, and constructed and operated at their cost. Developers would pay massive tax revenues to Nassau County, with LIPA selling some of the electricity back to the county at a reduced rate.
There are many permits required from numerous national, state, county and local agencies. Kessel, however, suggested last Thursday that LIPA and the county team up on the project to get the permitting completed faster. LIPA officially made the offer on Monday, April 11.
"This proposed partnership agreement with LIPA would make the county a player in the selection process," said Denenberg. "We would make the decision together. I would also encourage LIPA and Nassau County to be partners in not only this venture, but in other alternative energy proposals."
"This would be a win-win for all of us," Kessel said of the proposed partnership. He added that, by joining in such a venture with LIPA, the county would be eligible for reduced energy rates.
Despite the great boost that transmitted energy would provide, Kessel said that it cannot be the Island's primary energy source. "Reliability is the key," he said. "None of the power from a cable would be produced on Long Island, but the down side to that is that in an energy crunch, Long Island's transmissions get cut first. If the Northeast experiences a heat wave or some other major energy strain, we cannot rely on power supplied to us by the mainland.
"Although nobody wants to hear it," Kessel continued, "the fact is that Long Island power plants will have to be the major source of our energy, and we will have to build new ones."
Regeneration involves converting older or decommissioned power plants to run at necessary efficiency while meeting current environmental and safety standards.
Bluewater Wind
One of the most ambitious proposed projects -- a wind farm a few nautical miles off Jones Beach State Park -- could supply 10 percent of Long Island's energy needs. It could be under construction as early as 2006 or 2007.
One developer, Bluewater Wind, attended the public hearing, with project director Peter Mandelstam on hand. According to Mandelstam, technological breakthroughs in the past 20 years have reduced the cost of wind-generated electricity by 80 percent and made it competitive with fossil-fuel prices.
"Wind is actually much more efficient than was once thought," Mandelstam said. "In fact, on Earth Day 2002, LIPA released a study showing that several miles off Long Island's South Shore, there are wind resources with the potential to generate up to 5,200 megawatts of electricity -- enough to meet over 75 percent of Long Island's electrical needs."
The current proposal is far more modest, however. The proposed wind park would have 25 to 50 turbines generating 140 megawatts of electricity, or enough to light 42,000 homes.
Although the turbines would be about the height of a 39-story building, they would be built three to six miles from shore and would be visible only on clear days, according to Mandelstam. When visible, he said, the turbines would appear as a row of gray lines on the horizon the height of a thumbnail.
Owing to their distance from shore and the fact that the blades turn slowly, at only 8 to 15 revolutions per minute, their sound would not be detectable.
"Long Island has the chance to be a leader in clean, renewable energy," Mandelstam said. "Wind power is unlimited, completely pollution-free, and does not destroy the marine environment."
There may also be significant financial benefits. Because the supply is constant, Mandelstam asserted, its price is also constant and can provide LIPA rate payers stability that is impossible with fossil fuels. Wind power also has the potential to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil.
Bluewater Wind estimates that the project will generate 2,500 jobs and pull in tourists. Wind farms in Europe are common tourist attractions. LIPA would have to build a converter station at the wind farm and use a cable to transmit electricity to the Island.
Sustainable Energy Alliance
Speaking for the Sustainable Energy Alliance, Kathleen Whitley stressed the need for a diverse energy mix on Long Island. She asserted that a major factor preventing alternative energy sources from becoming mainstream is government involvement in fossil fuels.
"Traditional fuels are subsidized by the government," she said, "but alternate energy is not. We need to level the playing field to give alternative energy companies and consumers a chance."
The Sustainable Energy Alliance also favors repowering old plants by gutting the outmoded technology and installing combined-cycle technology, which, according to Whitley, burns only half as much fuel as traditional plants and can cut emissions by 90 percent.
The SEA also favors an aggressive education program aimed at the public schools to teach energy conservation, and a joint public-awareness campaign among LIPA, energy companies, and county and local governments.
Forty specific recommendations have been offered by the SEA to conserve energy.
LIPA and the SEA cooperate amicably, but disagreements are common, particularly over the issue of new power plants, which SEA would like to avoid but LIPA deems necessary.
Whitley expressed optimism about the proposed offshore wind project at Jones Beach, saying, "Wind power is not pie in the sky. It is very viable and could be a great source of conservation education as well."
TransEnergie
Owned by the Montreal-based company Hydro-Quebec, the U.S. branch of TransEnergie, headed by project manager Daniel McBrearty, hopes to install an undersea cable to connect the mainland power grids to a LIPA converter station.
Like Neptune, a competing developer not present at the meeting, TransEnergie promised no electromagnetic fields and minimal visual impact from the project.
McBrearty said that such a cable would draw from a diverse system of power sources on the mainland, including natural gas, wind and hydraulic, as well as coal, nuclear and oil.
"The competition factor," he said, "will make cable-transmitted energy reliable and reasonably priced, because a wider pool of companies will have access to supply Long Island."
The cable is to be buried six to 15 feet below the ocean floor, using a hydraulic jet plow to minimize the area of impact. TransEnergie built the Cross Sound Cable and the converter station in Shoreham, which is the model McBrearty envisions for a similar project on the South Shore.
The Shoreham converter station is 36 feet tall. TransEnergie representatives said that they can make the facade look like an office building or erect walls.
Questioning alternative energy
Alternative energy, and the companies that want to supply it, came under criticism during the hearing from Gerald Connoly, business manager of the Nassau-Suffolk Building and Construction Trade Council.
"Right now, burning fossil fuels is the only source of sustainable electricity," he said. "Wind and cables have a place, but right now only power plants can guarantee constant electricity."
Connoly is a proponent of building new plants rather than recommissioning old ones. He says that new technology is often incompatible with old building designs.
In seeking new plants, he said, health is his primary concern. "Plants built before the 1970s must be decommissioned," said Connoly. "The asbestos and factory pollution have resulted in hundreds of cases of cancer, emphysema and mesotheleoma.
"I've been to too many wakes. I've seen too many people in their 40s and 50s dying of diseases brought on by a hazardous workplace."
Another major issue for the Trade Council is jobs. Although wind farms and cables will provide numerous jobs, Connoly is skeptical that they will be filled by local workers. He is afraid that a cable will give strong economic leverage to other states, and that builders of both cables and wind farms will use Long Island as a cash cow for their own profits.
"Make sure these jobs they promise are slated for Long Islanders, not outsiders," said Connoly. "The transmission and wind-power companies are here to make a profit, so remember that when they present their dog and pony shows telling you how wonderful their plans are for the Island."
