Caithness Long Island, LLC commenced commercial operations of its 350 MW natural gas fired power generating facility on August 1, 2009, providing clean, reliable energy to Long Island Power Authority’s customers. Having broken ground in April 2007, the Caithness Long Island Energy Center (CLIEC) is the first major baseload power plant to be constructed on Long Island in over thirty-five years. The CLIEC represents a new class of clean burning, efficient power generation to meet the growing demand for electricity on Long Island. The combined-cycle generating station is much more efficient and produces significantly less emissions than the older plants presently in use on Long Island.

The combined-cycle technology employed by Caithness utilizes 34 percent less fuel than older baseload facilities to create the same amount of electricity by recycling energy that would have otherwise gone unused into the atmosphere. This equates to a savings of 26 million barrels of oil over the 20-year term of the LIPA contract. Since the CLIEC costs so much less to operate, it will be used in preference to older, less efficient power plants. Based on the four-year average of fuel prices from 2004-2007, Caithness is expected to save LIPA’s ratepayers over $75 million in annual fuel costs.

In addition to its major environmental benefits, the CLIEC produces a number of substantial economic advantages. In an unprecedented move for companies participating in New York’s Empire Zone (“EZ”) program, Caithness will turn over to LIPA the EZ tax credits it receives from New York State to help mitigate electric power rates on Long Island. The total benefit to LIPA’s ratepayers will amount to about $80 million over ten years. Over the life of the facility, it will generate approximately $189 million in local taxes paid to local municipalities, school district and other taxing jurisdictions.

During the peak of its construction, Caithness employed over 400 union workers and the total local labor employed to build the plant was approximately 1.1 million man hours, representing over $100 million in payroll and benefits. The construction of the plant stimulated the local economy, generating over $300 million dollars in direct expenditures for taxes, wages, local goods and services.

Engineering procurement and construction on the CLIEC involved international companies such as Siemens Energy, Inc., and local New York contractors such as Fresh Meadow Mechanical Corp., Peter Scalamandre and Sons, DeFazio Electric, BANA Electric Corp., and other local construction firms. The plant will be operated and maintained through an agreement with Siemens Energy, Inc. and provide power to LIPA under a purchase agreement lasting a minimum of twenty years.

A $13 million host community benefits package provides for funding of community development projects, education and job opportunities, an energy conservation program and other benefits for areas surrounding the project. Caithness has also set up a college scholarship fund for high school seniors from the South Country, Patchogue-Medford and Longwood School districts and supports numerous organizations throughout the Town of Brookhaven and Long Island.