LIPA Increases its Renewable Energy Portfolio
Uniondale, NY—April 2, 2008- The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is
adding 325 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year of clean, renewable energy to its
portfolio. LIPA officials recently announced the results of a competitive
procurement marking the selection of Brookfield Energy Marketing, Inc to provide
two blocks of hydro energy for a period of 10 years with each block consisting
of 150 GWh per year, each nearly 1% (0.7%) of LIPA’s total annual energy needs,
and PPL EnergyPlus LLC to provide 25 GWh per year of landfill gas energy for ten
years.
“LIPA is committed to diversifying its generation portfolio to include more
sources of renewable energy,” said LIPA President and CEO Kevin S. Law. “These
new renewable energy purchases will increase LIPA’s use of clean, non-fossil
energy and will help LIPA continue to meet its targets under the state’s
Renewable Portfolio Standard Program (RPS Program).”
While LIPA is not subject to the requirements of RPS, the Authority has
voluntarily committed to meet the spirit of the state program that establishes a
goal of 25% of the state’s energy requirements to come from renewable sources by
the year 2013.
“As our appetite for electricity continues to soar, environmental regulations
become more stringent, and fossil fuels continue to increase in price, it is
imperative that LIPA acquire more environmentally-friendly renewable energy
resources that will result in reducing our dependence on fossil fuel-generated
electricity,” Law said. “The companies we have chosen under this procurement
will help the Authority meet our renewable energy commitment.”
“Using renewable energy sources instead of oil and natural gas will enable
LIPA to provide our growing electricity needs without contributing to global
warming and air pollution,” said Gordian Raacke, Executive Director of Renewable
Energy Long Island (RELI), a not-for-profit organization conducting outreach and
education on clean energy technologies. “As an added bonus, renewable energy
provides insurance against roller-coaster oil prices caused by unpredictable
geopolitical forces and the whims of OPEC regimes.”
“LIPA continues to move in the right direction with this deal to bring more
clean, renewable energy into our region,” said Neal Lewis, Executive Director of
the Neighborhood Network. “LIPA’s announcement demonstrates the Authority’s
commitment to advancing clean, safe, energy throughout Long Island.”
More than 4% of LIPA’s overall energy portfolio, with these new purchases
added, will come from renewable sources of energy.
“Renewables should be a growing component of our capacity to meet the energy
needs of our customers because they are critical in addressing our increasing
concerns about the planet’s changing climate,” said Law. “Renewables are part of
my vision for LIPA’s future in helping us to defer the need for that next
generating facility and lessening our slavish dependence on fossil fuels.”
Law stressed that LIPA customers must be proactive by doing more to conserve
energy and use energy more efficiently. He urged LIPA customers to take
advantage of the many rebates and incentive programs LIPA offers to customers to
help achieve these goals. |
