Tag Archives | Long Island

Governor Paterson last Friday announced the results of an RFP that the state issued in April of 2008 for a solar power project on Long Island. BP Solar will build a 36.9 megawatt facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory and enXco a 13.1 megawatt series of installations across public and private properties in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. 50 megawatts of solar power would triple New York State’s current capacity and serve 6500 residential LIPA customers annually. NYSERDA has already given LIPA $15 million for the project while it negotiates power purchase agreements (“PPAs”) with BP and enXco; these agreements typically run for twenty (20) years and contemplate the PPA provider (here, BP and enXco) selling the electricity generated by the installation to a utility company during the course of the agreement. LIPA will make the terms of these particular PPAs available once executed. According to GlobeSt.com, LIPA is attempting to secure stimulus dollars for the project. Note that the project would be eligible for the federal solar power tax credit (extended under TARP through the end of 2016) provided that it is operational before December 31, 2016; the available credit is equal to 30 percent of the cost of the installation and there is no maximum credit limit.