The developer proposing a utility-scale battery energy storage facility on the site of the Shoreham power plant was awarded a 20-year contract by the Long Island Power Authority last week.
Key Capture Energy is seeking to build a 50-megawatt battery energy storage facility on the 57-acre site, which is owned by LIPA and is already developed with a decommissioned nuclear power plant, a 138kV substation and the Cross Sound Cable, which connects the LIPA power grid to suppliers in Connecticut.
The BESS facility is planned for a two-acre portion of the property on the west side of the site, which borders more than 300 acres of wooded, undeveloped land owned by National Grid. Key Capture Energy will lease the two-acre site from LIPA for 20 years at a fair market rental value, determined by an independent appraiser, according to documents provided by LIPA with last week’s announcement. LIPA has an option to purchase the facility after seven years; if it exercises the option to purchase, the lease will be terminated.
MORE COVERAGE: Energy company to discuss plans for 50 MW battery storage facility in Shoreham at Wading River Civic meeting Thursday night
The Shoreham project was one of two utility-scale battery energy storage projects awarded long-term contracts by LIPA on Dec. 18. The other is a 79-megawatt facility in Hauppauge, in the Town of Islip, also proposed by Key Capture Energy.
KCE was selected through an RFP process begun in April 2021. There were 78 proposals submitted in response to the RFP and in August 2022, five proposals were chosen for negotiations. Of the five short-listed proposals, two were withdrawn. Contract negotiations were successfully completed on two of the remaining three proposals.
The Shoreham BESS facility will connect to the Shoreham Substation and is expected to be completed by 2028, LIPA said in a Dec. 18 press release.
Under the contract, LIPA will purchase a guaranteed 50 MW and 200 megawatt-hours of capacity from the project during the first seven years. The estimated net cost of the KCE Shoreham Project for the first year is approximately $2.9 million or approximately $0.11 per month for the average LIPA residential ratepayer, according to documents provided by LIPA.
The developer must still obtain final permit approvals from the State of New York and the Town of Brookhaven.
“Energy storage is essential to delivering reliable and affordable power as we increasingly switch to renewable energy sources and electrify our buildings and transportation systems,” LIPA’s Acting CEO John Rhodes said in the press release.
New York has a 6,000 MW statewide energy storage goal, established to meet targets set by the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, which calls for 70% of the state’s electricity being produced from renewable resources by 2030, with the additional goal of achieving a 100% carbon-free grid.
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