Energy Forum on Wednesday
The second annual South Fork 100-Percent Renewable Energy Forum will be held on Wednesday from 12:30 to 6:15 p.m. at LTV Studios in Wainscott.
Renewable Energy Long Island, an East Hampton advocacy group, is organizing the event, as it did last year. The Towns of East Hampton and Southampton, both of which are aiming to meet communitywide electricity needs with renewable sources, are co-sponsors.
The forum brings elected officials, energy experts, and community stakeholders together to learn, commiserate, and plan an energy transformation of the South Fork.
Though it is the second annual event, the title of this year’s forum is new: The South Fork Clean Energy Forum was held on June 15, 2016. Since then, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman pledged, in April, to ensure that all of that town’s energy generation would come from renewable sources by 2025.
“Now that the entire South Fork has committed to 100-percent renewable energy, the title has changed,” said Gordian Raacke, Renewable Energy Long Island’s executive director. “That really makes the South Fork of Long Island the leading edge in New York’s energy transition. No other region in the state has committed to that goal.”
There has been more progress since the 2016 Clean Energy Forum, Mr. Raacke added, listing a number of developments, including the Long Island Power Authority’s inking of a contract with Deepwater Wind, a Rhode Island company, to purchase electricity from the offshore wind farm it seeks to construct approximately 30 miles off Montauk. LIPA has also committed to building two battery storage units in East Hampton and initiating a demand-reduction program for the South Fork.
The Town of East Hampton has adopted “a very stringent energy-efficiency building code,” he said. “We not only have a bold vision and ambitious goal to meet communitywide energy needs from renewable sources, but have made significant progress.”
The forum will begin with welcoming remarks from Linda James, an East Hampton Village resident and member of the town’s energy sustainability advisory committee, at 1 p.m. Mr. Raacke will then present “The South Fork as Leading Edge of New York’s Energy Transformation.”
The afternoon will continue with panel discussions on technical and policy solutions to meeting energy demand. Elected officials including Mr. Schneiderman, East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell and Deputy Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. will participate. Panel discussions will also feature Thomas Falcone, LIPA’s chief executive; representatives of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and Deepwater Wind.
NYSERDA will present awards to both towns, Mr. Raacke said, and Tesla, a manufacturer of electric cars, will display its solar roof tiles and Powerwall battery storage unit.
Ms. James and Mr. Raacke will deliver concluding remarks at 6 p.m. The full agenda and the event’s speakers can be found at renewableenergylongisland.org.
The forum is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Those interested in attending have been asked to R.S.V.P. at Renewable Energy Long Island’s website.