Long Island Solar Farm

The 32 MW AC[1] Long Island Solar Farm (LISF), located in Upton, New York, is the largest photovoltaic array in the eastern U.S. The LISF is made up of 164,312 solar panels from BP Solar which provide enough electricity for roughly 4,500 households. The project will cause the abatement of more than 30,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. LISF is co-owned by BP Solar and MetLife through Long Island Solar Farm LLC. Municipal utility Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) buys the 37-megawatt (MW, 49,600 hp)[2] power plant's output, which is estimated at 44 GWh annually, under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA). Payments over that time are expected to total $298 million (34¢/kWh, 60¢/LIPA customer/month).[3][4] The project was engineered by Blue Oak Energy and construction subcontracted to Hawkeye LLC from Hauppauge, New York.[5] The plant earned the Best Photovoltaic Project of Year Award from the New York Solar Energy Industries Association.[6][7] The panels are mounted at a fixed tilt angle of 35°, with the rows spaced approximately 18 ft 4 in (5.59 m) apart.[2]:p.12

Long Island Solar Farm
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°52′N 72°51′W
StatusOperational
Construction began2010
Commission dateNovember 2011
Owner(s)BP Solar & MetLife
Solar farm
TypeFlat-panel PV
Site area200 acres (80.9 ha)
Power generation
Units operational164,312
Nameplate capacity37 MWp
Annual net output44 GWh (5 MW avg)
Long Island Solar Farm monthly generation

The solar farm uses 25 of the 1.25 MVA inverters and a 34.5 kV collector system. Since the connection to the grid is at 69 kV, and acquiring a spare step-up transformer of that capacity has a long lead time, a spare transformer is maintained onsite.[8] Each inverter has an associated meteorological station to help researchers correlate plant output with observed and predicted weather, to help learn how to integrate photovoltaics into the power grid.

A formal case study[9] of the development of the Long Island Solar Farm was published by the U.S. Department of Energy in May 2013.

Generation (MWh)[2]:p.30[10]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecTotal
20113,4353,008 6,443
20123,4354,0564,8375,9104,6935,6115,4475,4334,6723,4023,3702,101 53,128
20132,8462,9354,4776,0555,4215,5825,3364,6975,0834,1633,0762,146 51,817
20142,2533,2224,5375,5065,2645,4995,6665,5924,5463,4653,1682,104 50,822
20152,8983,2234,1165,2706,0204,9805,5455,7845,0584,4243,1871,782 52,287

Eastern Long Island Solar Project

The 17 MW (AC) Eastern Long Island Solar Project or Suffolk Solar Carport Project consists of a group of projects, three at LIRR carparks. $124 million has been allocated to pay for the electricity generated, over 20 years, from the project (approximately 27¢/kWh).[11] Plans to install solar panels at Ronkonkoma LIRR have stalled.[12][13]

Project Locations[14]
LocationTownOutput (MW AC)ModulesNumber of arrays
H. Lee Dennison BuildingHauppauge1.757,73724
North County ComplexHauppauge0.53,4319
Cohalan Court ComplexCentral Islip3.515,11327
Riverhead County CenterRiverside311,53631
Brentwood LIRR Parking LotBrentwood13,92411
Deer Park LIRR Parking LotDeer Park2.253,92439
Ronkonkoma LIRR Parking Lot (south)Ronkonkoma520,11044
Brentwood Generation (MWh)[15]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecTotal
201359619312611311711398107866445 1,082
20145782115140134141145144120888154 1,301
Cohalan Generation (MWh)[16]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecTotal
2013267274418569511527508440483389291203 4,880
2014228326458559536562581574478352322214 5,190
Deerpark Generation (MWh)[17]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecTotal
2013183188287390350361348302331267200139 3,346
2014157226317387370389402397331243223148 3,590
Dennison Generation (MWh)[18]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecTotal
2013143146223304273282271235258208156109 2,608
2014112160225274263276285281234172158105 2,545
North County Generation (MWh)[19]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecTotal
2013143146223304273282271235258208156109 2,608
2014112160225274263276285281234172158105 2,545
Riverhead Generation (MWh)[20]
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecTotal
201310911117023220821420717919715811883 1,986
20148512217221020121121821517913212180 1,946

Clean Solar Initiative

LIPA has a Clean Solar Initiative which will install an additional 50 MW of solar photovoltaics, to be paid $0.22/kWh over a 20-year period. 5 MW is reserved for small systems of from 50 kW to 150 kW, 10 MW for systems from 150 kW to 500 kW, and the remaining 35 MW is for systems of any size, up to 20 MW. All systems must be connected to the grid at the 13.2 kV level. Systems connected before July 2012 are not eligible.[21][22]

References

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