Farmingville, NY - On December 29, the Town’s Manorville and Holtsville Renewable Energy Generating Facilities began to produce solar power, meeting the deadline to be up and running before the end of 2017. The Manorville site has 3800 solar panels and Holtsville has 5080. Combined, the facilities generate 2.9 Megawatts (MW) DC of power, enough to provide electricity to 478 homes. The facilities include all ground-mount solar arrays using low profile, ballasted mounts that required no ground penetration or the clear cutting of any trees. Both facilities are managed by Agilitas Energy, LLC. Pictured left to right are Councilman Neil Foley, Councilman Dan Panico and Supervisor Ed Romaine at the Town’s Holtsville Renewable Energy Generating Facility.
In May of 2014, the Town was awarded a Feed-In Tariff from PSEG Long Island for solar arrays on five Town-owned sites: the Manorville Compost Facility, Holtsville Ecology Site, Brookhaven Calabro Airport, Town Hall, and the Amphitheater. The sites were selected after a review was conducted by PSEG Long Island, on behalf of LIPA to determine the likelihood of a successful project. This is part of the utility company’s multi-phase Clean Solar Initiative program designed to produce clean, renewable power for Long Island. The Town will lease the sites, and anticipates receiving funds of approximately $4 million to $5 million over the life of the systems for these initial five locations and awarded capacity.
Agilitas covered the cost of all construction and maintenance and provides the power to LIPA through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the utility company. When all five projects are complete, approximately 54,000 solar panels that will be installed are expected to generate 12 megawatts AC (15 megawatts DC) of electricity (18,000,000 kilowatt hours a year), enough to power 2,500 homes.
