For Earth Day: LIPA Issues Six-Year Report on Hicksville, NY—April 18, 2005—In recognition of Earth Day, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) today released its Clean Energy Initiative (CEI) 2004 Draft Annual Report, which summarizes the CEI’s numerous positive environmental achievements from mid-1999 through December of 2004. LIPA also celebrated the installation of its 500th residential solar roof on Long Island by announcing a new rebate program for solar energy systems. The report, released at the start of Earth Week, shows that LIPA’s CEI, through its various conservation, energy efficiency, and load reduction programs, has produced total energy savings of nearly one (1) million megawatt hours (MWh) during its first six years, which is enough electricity to power 105,000 average–sized Long Island homes for one year. CEI programs have also reduced Long Island’s peak demand by 322 megawatts (MW), which is almost equal to the amount of electricity that can be imported by the now operational Cross-Sound Cable. As it dedicated its 500th residential roof-top solar energy system, LIPA announced a new photovoltaic (pv) rebate program designed to further advance the use of solar energy on Long Island, especially by municipalities, school districts and not-for-profit organizations. LIPA’s CEI programs, developed at the direction of Governor George E. Pataki, have helped reduced the use of fossil fuels, which in turn has reduced emissions of harmful pollutants. By fostering energy conservation and efficient energy use to reduce the amount of electricity consumed by LIPA customers, about 775,000 barrels of fuel oil and 3.4 million decatherms of natural gas were NOT burned to produce electricity. In turn, approximately 5000 tons of sulfur dioxide, 1,900 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide were NOT released into the air. Additionally, acting as an economic stimulus, it’s estimated that the CEI has saved LIPA customers over $206 million dollars and led to the creation of over 3,500 jobs on Long Island. LIPA’s newly installed 500th residential solar roof is located at the Hicksville home of William Palmer. The 46-panel pv system will produce about 7,360 watts of electricity and cost $62,500. LIPA provided a CEI rebate of $33,120, which significantly reduced the out-of-pocket expense for the system. Mr. Palmer will be able to further reduce the cost of the system via a New York State tax incentive and by selling excess electricity back to LIPA. To help celebrate the milestone achievement, LIPA announced a new series of rebates for the next four (4) megawatts of photovoltaics to be installed on Long Island over the next few years. The new CEI rebates will increases LIPA’s spending on solar power by about $500,000 annually to a total of $4.1 million per year. They will also provide a special incentive for municipalities, school districts and not-for-profit organizations to utilize solar energy, because these entities can not take advantage of tax incentives afforded residential and commercial customers who use solar power systems. “The Clean Energy Initiative, implemented at Governor Pataki’s direction, continues to play a major role in shaping how Long Island views and uses electricity,” LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel. “And as the cost of fossil fuels continue to increase, the economic and environmental benefits of LIPA’s CEI programs will become even more important for Long Island’s long-term economic growth and stability.” Through direct rebates to LIPA customers, conservation initiatives, and demand reduction programs LIPA’s CEI has had a substantial positive impact on Long Island’s economy. According to noted economist Dr. Pearl Kamer, LIPA customers who take advantage of CEI rebate programs in turn spend these added funds on Long Island. The CEI also creates actual dollar savings that reduce the bills of residential and commercial customers. In effect, the CEI augments the disposable income of Long Island residents and provides a source of additional income for Long Island businesses. In total, through the end of 2004, the CEI has directly rebated about $79 million to LIPA customers. It is estimated that this added economic activity has led to the creation of over 3,500 jobs. LIPA’s Clean Energy programs have also helped reduce traffic and vehicle emissions on Long Island. To deliver the three quarters of a million barrels of fuel oil saved through LIPA’s CEI, it would have required 2,712 tanker trucks. Placed end to end, those trucks would have stretched 30 miles. “The average residential electric customer on Long Island used 9,430 kilowatt hours (kWh) last year; that’s 16% higher than the 8,128 kWh consumed by the average residential customer in 1998. Given the unprecedented and sustained growth in Long Island’s demand for electricity the importance of the CEI is clear,” said Mr. Kessel. “Regardless of which option LIPA exercises for its future business plan, the funding for the CEI must be continued at the present level or even increased,” added Mr. Kessel. “We firmly believe in energy efficiency and in using alternative energy technologies,” said Mr. Palmer. “LIPA’s solar rebate program allowed us, as a family, to do something positive for the environment while making an investment in our children’s future by reducing the use of fossil fuels to produce electricity. We couldn’t be more pleased with our new solar energy system and we look forward to many years of using electricity generated by the sun. We’ll celebrate Earth Day every day! “It’s extremely rewarding to see that 500 concerned homeowners across Long Island have taken a giant positive step towards investing in clean, safe and local power generated on their roof tops,” said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment. “This is more evidence that renewable technologies are paving the way for a fossil-free future.” “These 500 homeowners have seen the light – and they’re using it to power their homes," said Gordian Raacke Executive Director of Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI). "This is good news for our environment, economy and health. We are proud to have worked with LIPA and other local partners of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative to make Long Island a shining example of solar leadership." “The release of LIPA’s five-year CEI Annual Report is the kind of ‘good news’ that Long Islanders need to hear more about,” stated Neal Lewis, Executive Director of LI Neighborhood Network. “We can take pride in knowing that progress is being made in cleaning our air and lessening the effects of global warming right here on Long Island, thanks to the viable alternative energy technologies LIPA supports through its Clean Energy Initiative.” LIPA created its Clean Energy Initiative (CEI) at the direction of Governor Pataki in May of 1999. The CEI is a 10-year, $355-million program designed to develop and implement programs and technology to foster energy conservation and efficiency, clean distributed generation, and renewable technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal. Through the end of 2004, LIPA has spent approximately $201 million on the various CEI programs. New Solar System Incentives To help boost the photovoltaic (PV) industry on Long Island and provide an added incentive for not-for-profit organizations and municipalities to use solar power, Mr. Kessel also announced new LIPA rebate incentives for the next four (4) megawatts of PV to be installed on Long Island over the next three years. The per-watt rebate for installed solar systems will range from $3.75 to $3.50 to $3.25 to $3.00 over time, which provides an additional .25 cents per watt than originally planned. To help encourage not-for-profit organizations, school districts, municipalities and other public institutions to incorporate solar power into their energy plans, the per-watt rebate will be one (1) dollar higher than those offered for residential and commercial pv systems. The new rebate incentive levels will add about $1.4 million in new funding, which will bring LIPA’s planned solar rebate program to a total of $12.3 million over a three-year period. Clean Energy Initiative Report Highlights Ø Commercial Construction Program: LIPA’s Commercial Construction Program provides financial incentives to customers who agree to install energy-efficient equipment in buildings under construction or renovation. The program also offers technical assistance free of charge to developers and their design teams to facilitate the construction or renovation of buildings with an energy use performance that exceeds standard building practice. LIPA also offers a rebate program that meets specific construction requirements. Since its inception the Commercial Construction Program has assisted over 1,743 projects providing rebates totaling $12,014,825. Ø Geothermal Projects: Geothermal energy is a renewable and clean source of energy because its source is the heating and cooling that can be provided by the Earth's ambient temperature. This energy is extracted without burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, or oil. LIPA has worked with both commercial and residential partners to install 138 geothermal systems to date, resulting in 4,400 MWh in total energy savings and $2,250,574 in rebates. Ø Lighting and Appliances: This program is designed to transform the residential lighting and appliance markets through coordinated intervention strategies. To date, 2,027,494 high-efficiency compact fluorescent light bulbs have been placed in consumer homes, 44,767 energy efficient clothes washers have been sold, as well as 189,185 energy efficient lighting fixtures. The program has resulted in nearly 1.66 million MWh of energy savings and approximately $13.4 million in rebates. Ø Residential Energy Affordability Partnership (REAP): The REAP Program is designed to help lower-income households reduce their energy bills through improved control of their energy usage. Over 20,400 households have participated for a total annual customer savings of $2,498,021. Ø Solar Pioneer Program: LIPA has rebated over $12.5 million for the installation of approximately 2,393 kW of solar panels. Additionally, the R&D project at the Fala DM facility in Farmingdale also provided for the installation of another 1,010kW of solar panels within LIPA’s service territory. Located on top of three buildings owned by the Fala DM Group, the largest commercial photovoltaic (PV) system in the world is the result of a joint effort between LIPA and Fala, and was partially funded through LIPA’s CEI program. The solar panels cover a combined roof surface of about 102,700 square feet and produce over one million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually. Fala is using the electricity to run a vast array of state-of-the-art computers and processing equipment needed for its direct mail business. The project will also reduce Fala’s peak load electricity demand by approximately 33 percent. When factoring in the 1.01 MW Photovoltaic demonstration at the Fala DM facility in Farmingdale, there are now 3,403 kW of solar panels installed by customers through The Solar Pioneer Program. Utilizing the equivalency factors recommended by the US Department of Energy for installations of larger sized PV systems occurring in support of the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, the installations within LIPA’s service territory equate to 5,372 solar roofs. In light of LIPA’s stated goal of achieving 10,000 Solar roofs within its territory by 2010, LIPA remains on track to achieving this goal. Ø Fuel Cell Technology: A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device which produces electricity without fossil fuel combustion. A fuel cell provides continuous DC power, which converts the chemical energy from a fuel source directly into electricity and heat. When operated on hydrogen, the fuel cell produces this energy with clean water as the only by-product. LIPA is an enthusiastic advocate of this exciting technology and the promise it holds for the Island’s energy future. LIPA has demonstrated this technology in four different applications: its West Babylon Fuel Cell Farm (the largest of it kind in the Nation), remote sites, the United Postal Service, and future residential demonstrations. Currently there are 40 fuel cells in various settings throughout Long Island producing 200kW of electricity. LIPA also plans to utilize a 10 MW fuel cell power plant – the largest in the world – by the summer of 2006. Ø LIPA Edge LIPA’s state-of–art direct load control program allows for direct load control over residential and small business customers during periods of high-energy demand. LIPA Edge was extended to cover 22,585 residential and 4,056 commercial thermostat installations, along with 2,628 pool pump installations. In total, this provides LIPA with a load reduction capability of 30 megawatts. LIPA Edge customers received over $1 million in direct rebates. LIPA’s Clean Energy Initiative aids the transformation of specific markets, how professionals make energy-related decisions, how manufacturers determine which products to develop, how various market participants involved in energy product distribution and delivery interact with each other so that investments made now to encourage energy efficiency will continue to reap efficiency returns in the future. For more information on LIPA’s Clean Energy Initiative and LIPA’s electric conservation and efficiency programs, visit www.lipower.org/cei. LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric utility, owns the retail electric system on Long Island and provides electric service to nearly 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA does not provide natural gas service. ### Contact Information: Press Release 04/18/05 2:25 PM Eastern |
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