LIPA Seeking Wind Energy from Sources Off Long Island
Request for Proposals Issued for 25 Megawatts Of Land-Based Wind Energy
Also Seeking Independent Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy Project Cost
Economics
Uniondale, NY—May 22, 2007— The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA)
today announced that it has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking bids
for supplying LIPA with 25 megawatts (MW) of land-based wind energy,
transmitted to Long Island later this year via the new Neptune cable, from
generating facilities in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Maryland (PJM) power
market.
LIPA is seeking a one-year contract with a wind energy supplier for the
energy commodity itself. June 4 is the deadline for submitting an RFP response.
Should a viable proposal emerge from the evaluation of the RFP responses, a
proposed contract for purchasing the wind energy could go before the LIPA Board
of Trustees for review.
LIPA also announced that it has retained PACE Global Energy to undertake an
independent review of current wind energy market conditions both nation-wide and
around the world, including offshore wind energy projects, to provide LIPA with
updated data on the cost/benefits of large-scale wind energy undertakings
including its Offshore Wind Project.
Among other things, the Pace study will compare estimated offshore wind
energy projects to new conventional generation on Long Island; the implied
“green premium” of wind energy; and relate the green premium to estimated
Renewable Energy Credit prices and capacity and energy prices in the New York
Market. To be completed in July, the study will also compare the out year costs
on LIPA’s proposed wind project to conventional resources, including the cost of
oil, gas and carbon avoidance costs. The study, which will cost approximately
$50,000 to complete, will form the basis of evaluating LIPA’s proposed wind
project.
“Long Island needs to move away from its heavy dependence on fossil
fuel-generated electricity for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is
to clean the air with lower power plant
emissions,” said LIPA CEO/President Richard M. Kessel. “With more and more
land-based wind energy generators going on line in the PJM market and with the
new Neptune cable coming on line this year it certainly makes sense to explore
the possibility of importing wind-generated energy to Long Island from an
off-island resource now.
“We also need to get an unbiased evaluation of wind energy economics as they
exist now in the United States and around the world to help make an informed
decision on the future economics of the proposed Long Island Offshore Wind
Energy Project,” said Mr. Kessel. “Wide estimates are being tossed about and we
need to make sure we have reliable, updated economic data so the LIPA Board can
make a decision one way or the other on whether to go forward with the proposed
Offshore project or not.
Go to:
http://www.lipower.org/company/papers/rfp/windenergy.html to view or
download the Wind Energy RFP. |
