By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Oct. 15 -- Addressing the shortage of generation located on Long Island, New York, Long Island Power Authority and KeySpan Corp. will place an additional 79 Mw of peaking capacity at an existing power plant site on the island.
The transmission of power to the island is severely constrained and there is a need for new generation located there, LIPA said.
'"During the August heat wave, we nearly exhausted our electric supply. Without adding new on-island generation resources by next summer it is very likely blackouts will occur next summer, if we have the same heat conditions as this August," said Richard Kessel, LIPA chairman.
The new generating units will be located at KeySpan's Port Jefferson facility and will be state of the art natural gas fired gas turbines. As part of the agreement with local government officials, LIPA has agreed to make certain improvements to nearby nature preserves.
The generation will only run during peak demand period. The single cycle turbines will be 40% more efficient than a conventional combustion turbines on the island.
KeySpan will oversee the installation of the turbines that are expected to be online by next summer. LIPA will buy all of the power produced and Keyspan will operate the plants.
This is the third proposal by LIPA and KeySpan to help relieve the shortage of generation in the region. In May, KeySpan and LIPA announced a proposal to construct a 250 Mw combined cycle unit in Melville. In July, KeySpan and LIPA announced a project for two more combustion turbines at Glenwood Landing.
