What is the Caithness Long Island Energy Center?

The Caithness Long Island Energy Center (CLIEC) is a 350 MW electric power generating facility that supplies approximately 10% of Long Island’s electricity.

Who is Caithness?

Caithness Energy, LLC, New York-based independent power producer, has been a pioneer in the development of clean, reliable energy since the early 1980’s. Over the years, Caithness has had interests in several dozen geothermal, wind, solar and natural gas power projects, generating in excess of 3,000 megawatts (MW) across the country. The Caithness Long Island Energy Center is owned by Caithness Long Island, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caithness Energy, LLC.

You can visit our Web site at www.caithnessenergy.com to learn more about us.

Where is the Caithness Long Island Energy Center located?

Location: CLIEC is located on a twenty acre site within a 103-acre parcel of land owned by Caithness in Yaphank in the Town of Brookhaven. The site is centrally-located in a large industrial area and is within the Brookhaven Empire Zone, an area specially designated by New York State and the Town of Brookhaven for industrial development.

Bordering land: The Long Island Rail Road runs along the northern perimeter of the site. Light industrial facilities border the property on the west and the south. On the eastern side of the property, a 300 foot-wide Long Island Power Authority "LIPA" transmission line right-of-way borders the site along with several industrial parcels currently under development.

How close is the project to residential areas?

Our project site is surrounded by industrial and commercial facilities and undeveloped, industrially zoned land for a considerable distance in all directions. The nearest residential communities are about three-quarters of a mile away. In contrast, almost all other major power plants on Long Island have residential communities immediately adjacent to them.

What generating technology and fuel are used at the plant?

CLIEC employs advanced "combined-cycle" technology. In a combined-cycle plant, a gas turbine and steam turbine are used to generate electricity. Exhaust heat from the gas turbine is used to generate steam and create additional electricity without using more fuel, resulting in a highly fuel-efficient system. In contrast, older baseload power plants on Long Island use a steam cycle only and are much less efficient in their use of fuel. The primary fuel is natural gas; oil is used as a backup fuel during periods, such as on the coldest winter days when the demand for natural gas is at its peak. At such times, our plant switches from gas to oil, freeing up natural gas to heat residences, hospitals, schools and other institutions.

What role does LIPA play?

LIPA purchases most of the power from CLIEC. In June of 2003, the LIPA issued a request for proposals ("RFP") for a 20-year supply of power or interstate transmission capacity from new, privately-owned facilities. Caithness was one of two winning bidders and in December of 2005, LIPA entered into a twenty-year power purchase agreement with CLIEC. Commercial operation under the power purchase agreement commenced in August, 2009.

What are the environmental effects of CLIEC?

Environmentally sensitive areas: CLIEC is not within nor does it encroach on any environmentally sensitive or protected areas such as wetlands, protected rivers, parks, habitats for endangered or threatened species, or the recharge zone for the aquifer.

Air: Modern power plants like CLIEC are, by far, much cleaner than the older oil and gas units which make up most of the existing generating capacity on Long Island. In part, this is because they are more efficient than plants built decades ago and therefore burn one-third less fuel per unit of electricity generated than older facilities. In addition, the advanced gas turbine technology that is available today is much cleaner than the combustion technologies available decades ago. Finally, the plant’s design incorporates a selective catalytic converter (SCR) which converts nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide into harmless gases; old generating facilities on Long Island do not have SCRs. As a result, overall pollutant emissions are at least 90 percent lower per unit of electricity generated as compared to the existing older power plants on Long Island. Over time, as our plant and others like it substitute for the older units, there will be substantial regional air quality benefits.

Greenhouse gases: Because CLIEC uses less fuel than older plants, it produces one-third less greenhouse gases per unit of electricity generated.

Water consumption: Another technologically advanced feature, is that the steam condenser at CLIEC uses an air cooled design. Long Island’s older power generating units use once-through cooling systems which circulate large quantities of water from the Sound, a harbor, or a Bay. These once-through systems are no longer permitted on new plants because they have significant impacts on marine life. Instead of once-through cooling, wet (also known as “evaporative”) cooling towers or dry (also known as “air-cooled”) condensers are employed. Evaporative cooling systems consume substantial quantities of water whereas air-cooled condensers consume none. To conserve Long Island’s drinking water resources, Caithness chose an air cooled condenser instead of the less expensive evaporative cooling systems (which are employed on several other Long Island power plants). As a consequence, CLIEC uses 95% less water than it would have if an evaporative system had been used.

Groundwater protection: With the exception of sanitary wastewater, which is discharged to septic tanks, and stormwater sewers on the roads, CLIEC has been designed with no automatic or uncontrolled discharges into the ground. All underground piping which contains liquid fuel or other potentially hazardous liquids are double-walled. All tanks and process areas that contain oil or chemicals are constructed with concrete curbs or walls to contain leaks and, in fact, the entire floor of the plant’s generation building is impermeable and is designed to contain any spills.

What benefits does the project provide to the Town of Brookhaven and to the local community?

Tax revenues: Over its lifetime, the Caithness Long Island Energy Center will contribute over $189 million in local taxes to the Town and the local school district.

Town services: The project requires little in the way of Town-provided services.

Employment: The plant has a staff of twenty professional and technical employees. During the project’s two-year construction period, there were, on average, of over 200 construction workers at the project site and over $100 million was spent locally on wages and on locally provided services.

Scholarships and career programs: Caithness contributes $25,000 annually to a college scholarship program that goes to students selected by the Longwood, Patchogue-Medford and South Country School Districts. The scholarships were established to promote standards of excellence and provide diverse educational opportunities for local students interested in science, engineering or environment studies. Caithness has also initiated a twice yearly, six-week long internship program for high school students in these high schools. In addition, Caithness supports youth sports programs and local community and environmental groups.

What has been CLIEC’s operating history?

CLIEC entered commercial operation on-time and on-budget and compiled an excellent safety record for a project of this type. The plant has compiled an excellent operating record since it went into operation in August 2009: its air emissions have been substantially below the stringent levels set in its permits; the plant has exceeded the stringent availability standards in its contract with LIPA; and it has operated safely and reliably.

Is Caithness considering expanding CLIEC?

In August of 2010, LIPA issued a new request for proposals (“RFP”) for generation and transmission capacity which would go on-line in the 2016-18 time period. Caithness has submitted a response to that RFP, proposing to add generating capacity to the Yaphank site. LIPA has said it would announce its project selections in the winter of 2011-12. Any on-Island generating project that is selected by LIPA will be required to go through a permitting process governed by the State Environmental Quality Review Act and to obtain approvals from federal, state, county and town governments.

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