Brookhaven Sets Sights on Green Energy Future

Brookhaven’s energy future is green with more than two dozen projects worth $811 million either in operation or on their way, including solar, wind and storage systems as part of the town’s long-range plan to wean the local electric grid off fossil fuel.

Already producing power, the black panels of Agilitis Energy can be seen on town-owned property throughout Brookhaven. The facilities include solar arrays that required no ground penetration or the clear cutting of trees, Supervisor Edward Romaine pointed out.

“I’m a strong supporter of alternative energy so we can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and depend on the energy Mother Nature provides,” Romaine said. One of the solar sites is the Brookhaven landfill in Yaphank. “This fits in with our plan to repurpose the landfill as an energy park through fuel cells, solar and other potential renewable energy in the future.” Other solar arrays are located at the Calabro Airport in Shirley, Manorville Compost Facility, Holtsville Ecology Site, Brookhaven Amphitheater, and town hall, both in Farmingville.

Facilitated by Brookhaven’s Industrial Development Agency, solar projects are also producing power for local companies, including Clare Rose, Quality King Distributors, Blue Point Brewery Company, and Framerica. Shoreham Solar Commons, an $85.5 million project, is also up and running, along with the $32 million Fuel Cell Park and $100 million American Organic Energy facility, both in Yaphank.

NIC Holding Corp., the parent company of Northville Industries, will construct $13.4 million in fuel cells at their terminals in Holtsville and Setauket. The cells use a process known as catalytic steam reformation to convert fuel into hydrogen, which is then used to create electricity. Fuel cells are more fuel efficient than Long Island’s typical power generation facilities, the company boasts, and emit virtually no pollutants. In use since the 1960s, fuel-cell technology operates in units the size of shipping containers and have been used in NASA’s space shuttles.

Solar panels at Calabro Airport in Shirley are part of $811 million in green energy projects Brookhaven is supporting to wean the local grid off fossil fuel.

On tap to store energy created by the green project are the $154.5 Savion Battery Energy Storage System in Yaphank and the $159.4 million Peconic River Energy Storage Project in Manorville. The North Street site is an optimal location for new energy infrastructure, according to its parent company, Plus Power. Situated adjacent to an existing LIPA transmission line, the property is zoned light industrial and has supported commercial and industrial land uses for several decades. Additionally, the site is outside of flood zones and no wetlands are present.

Reaping the wind—and producing a windfall for Brookhaven—will be the $491 million Sunrise Wind project that will see the erection of 84 turbines off Montauk Point with a cable running 124 miles to Smith Point Park on its way to a distribution hub in Holtsville. Brookhaven is expecting $130 million in impact fees for allowing a 17.5-mile portion of the cable to run under town roads and right-of-ways. The project will also see the construction of a $37 million headquarters in East Setauket and a $10 million National Offshore Wind Training Center in Brentwood. Port Jefferson has been designated as the homeport of the project’s custom-built 260-foot Service Operation Vessel and the green energy effort will also create a $5 million Research and Development Partnership with Stony Brook University.

“I am proud that the Town of Brookhaven, in conjunction with Sunrise Wind, is taking the lead on a project that will generate clean green energy, create lasting employment, and put Suffolk County on the cutting edge of offshore wind operations,” Supervisor Romaine said.