PSEG Long Island has announced that the final bid price for the Long Island’s second Clean Solar initiative will be $0.1688 per kilowatt hour.
The feed-in-tariff program builds upon Long Island Power Authority’s first feed-in tariff for solar energy and is designed to bring an additional 100 megawatts (MW) of solar energy to Long Island.
“These auction results have yielded a price for solar energy almost 25 percent below the price being paid for the first feed-in-tariff on Long Island, for a savings of $8.1 million per year,” said Michael Voltz, director of Energy Efficiency and Renewables for PSEG Long Island.
“We are pleased to be working with the solar industry to continue driving down costs of solar energy on Long Island,” Voltz added.
PSEG Long Island was selected by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) in Dec. 2011 to manage LIPA’s electric system. The 12-year contract includes commitments to improve customer satisfaction and provide safe, reliable service for LIPA customers.
For this bid, PSEG Long Island had received 178 proposals from 55 separate entities, which reflected a variety of proposed bids.
The 100 MW of solar energy is expected to be generated from 76 separate projects, which is enough to power about 13,000 homes. These solar photovoltaic systems will provide clean, renewable energy for at least the next 20 years, and will create hundreds of construction jobs.
According to Voltz, the decline in price reflects increased consumer awareness, understanding, availability and demand for solar energy. It also shows competition among a growing solar industry in the island as well as ongoing decline in costs of manufacturing and installing solar. Tax incentives provided by the federal, state and local governments also drive the price decline.
In an effort to reduce load on constrained areas and help defer, reduce or eliminate the need for new generation and infrastructure, a solar price premium of 7 cents per kWh was offered for projects built in the designated areas located east of the Canal Substation in Southampton.
The success of this feed-in-tariff program ensures continued growth and diversification of Long Island’s renewable energy portfolio, providing safe and adequate long-term energy supply for Long Island, officials said.