Power Forum: Letting Consumers Decide
Approximately 100 people attended the South Fork Clean Energy Forum on June 15 at LTV Studios in Wainscott, at which officials from government, PSEG Long Island, and renewable energy companies discussed the transition from fossil-fuel sources that scientists say is urgently needed to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
The Long Island Power Authority, for which PSEG Long Island manages the electricity grid, is to announce selections from its request for proposals to meet the South Fork’s growing energy demand next month. Proposals submitted include a 90-megawatt offshore wind farm and a microgrid comprising solar panel arrays, batteries, and backup generators.
Renewable Energy Long Island, a not-for-profit organization that promotes clean, sustainable energy generation and use, hosted the forum, which was co-sponsored by the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton, the latter’s sustainability committee, the Concerned Citizens of Montauk, the East End Resilience Network, the East Hampton Environmental Coalition, and OLA of Eastern Long Island.
“We’re really moving from decisions being made, for the last 100-plus years, in utility board rooms and high levels of government to a place where they are now made by consumers around the kitchen table or at the town board level,” said Gordian Raacke, the executive director of Renewable Energy Long Island. “That is so important to grasp. What we’re witnessing and trying to do is just that: take control of our energy future.”
The forum, he said, was “the first time the public was able to get an in-depth look at the various proposals and the various building blocks we have to build a new energy system for the South Fork.” In his presentation, Mr. Raacke displayed a slide illustrating a transformation from a centralized to a decentralized infrastructure, from imported to local fuel sources, from utility-owned to community-owned, and from vulnerable to resilient.
East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell likened the town’s comprehensive energy vision, which established the goal of meeting 100 percent of communitywide electricity consumption with renewable sources by 2020, to its first open-space plan, enacted 40 years ago to preserve environmentally sensitive land. That plan, he said, led to the community preservation fund that today provides some $25 million annually to purchase land and preclude development.
Through assistance from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Mr. Cantwell said, the town has also analyzed community microgrids, installed electric vehicle charging stations, completed energy audits of municipal buildings, and proposed electric vehicles to replace some of the town’s fleet.
But “there is much more work to do,” he said, citing record-setting temperatures in 2015 and a rising sea level that threatens coastal communities such as East Hampton. “We are at a crossroads in the decision making for the energy future on the South Fork,” he said. “We know we face a serious, imminent, and growing deficit of electricity supply on the South Fork. We know PSEG and LIPA are considering proposals to address it. . . . I believe PSEG will see the value in meeting the needs of the South Fork with renewable energy and conservation.”
Meeting the South Fork’s energy demand with renewable energy sources will require a multi-pronged approach, Mr. Raacke said, one he too hopes PSEG will take. “We shouldn’t think, ‘We pick one and we’re done.’ It’s all about the right components. A smart community microgrid is the foundation, the platform for building the new energy system. An offshore wind farm, rooftop and other larger-scale solar arrays, and energy efficiency are all very important plug-ins to that holistic solution. We need to make existing buildings much more efficient, and reduce peak demand. We need smarter grid management, and local grid control. That’s what we’re trying to build here.”
The town will continue to push its renewable-energy goals through Energy Awareness Days, described elsewhere on this page.