50-Megawatt Solar Project Advances on LI

UNIONDALE, NY-Two solar power companies will provide a total of 50 megawatts of energy under a project spearhead by Long Island Power Authority. Reportedly the largest of its kind in New York State, the project will power 6,500 residential customers when completed and will triple the state’s solar energy capacity.

Gov. David Paterson and LIPA officials on Friday announced the results of an RFP issued last April. BP Solar will provide 36.9 megawatts of solar energy from facilities that the company will build at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Additionally, enXco will supply 13.1 megawatts of solar energy from facilities constructed and operated on municipal, school and private properties in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

LIPA will start negotiations with both companies on power purchase agreements, which normally run for 20 years. A LIPA spokesman tells GlobeSt.com that financial terms of the PPAs will be available once the agreements are reached. In the meantime, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is providing LIPA with $15 million toward the project. NYSERDA will also work with LIPA to identify other possible sources of funding; according to published reports, LIPA is seeking to get some funds from the Obama administration’s $787-billion stimulus package.