“Christmas has come early for the horseshoe crabs!” exclaimed Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, following New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s signing of the Horseshoe Crab Protection Act last month. The new law bans the removal of horseshoe crabs for bait and biomedical uses in New York waters by 2029.
SOURCE:
https://www.amityvillerecord.com/articles/lipa-suffolk-county-partner-on-industrial-solar-analysis/
By CAROLYN JAMES - January 22, 2206
The Long Island Power Authority and Suffolk County have launched a new partnership to evaluate large-scale solar energy opportunities across major industrial areas in the county.
One study is to evaluate different business models, including traditional behind-the-meter systems and front-of-the-meter models where rooftop space is leased to developers, and to identify which structures best balance benefits for property owners, businesses, and the broader grid.
The project, announced Jan. 14 by LIPA CEO Carrie Meek Gallagher and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, will analyze rooftop solar potential, grid capacity, and permitting processes in key commercial zones. A consultant will be selected through a newly developed Request for Qualifications process.
Target areas include the Long Island Innovation Park at Hauppauge, Route 110 Corridor, Heartland Business Center in Brentwood, MacArthur Business Park, Brookhaven Rail Terminal, and Wyandanch.
The analysis will use geospatial and engineering data. The plan is reach out to municipalities, property owners and industrial associations to identify regulatory barriers.
For property owners and tenants, benefits can include:
•Lower electricity costs if the solar serves on-site load behind the meter.
•Lease revenue if a property owner leases rooftop space to a solar developer.
•Increased property value and marketability from hosting clean energy infrastructure.
•Potential participation in programs that recognize the system value of solar in constrained areas.
For the electric system and customers more broadly:
•Reduced peak demand and stress on local infrastructure.
•Improved reliability in constrained or high-load areas.
•Potential long-term cost avoidance by deferring or reducing the need for grid upgrades.
“We have the largest industrial parks east of the Mississippi; the second largest in the United States,” Romaine said as he discussed the benefit of solar energy at a recent Long Island Association breakfast. “That’s a lot of flat rooftops that can be used to collect solar energy, so we want to provide incentives.”
He added that the collaboration with LIPA “will help unlock the potential of our industrial areas to support clean energy, reduce business costs, and create a more resilient energy future.”
The Request for Proposals was issued January 16 with final proposals due February 6. A LIPA spokesman said the award is expected to be made around mid March.
Babylon Town Supervisor Richard Schaffer said he has spoken to the county and LIPA about the plan which, would include businesses in Wyandanch, primarily along Wyandanch Avenue between Straight Path and Belmont Avenue.
“Solar residents have been very happy with the success of having solar panels on their homes and it has not only saved them money but also provided additional energy for the grid,” said Schaffer. “I believe our local businesses would also save money with these solar leases and also help provide the additional energy we need here on Long Island. now and into the future.”
Environmental and clean energy groups praised the effort.
“Industrial rooftops are among New York’s most underused solar opportunities,” said Noah Ginsburg of NYSEIA. Julie Tighe of the New York League of Conservation Voters called it a “scalable, cost-effective model” for development. Adrienne Esposito of Citizens Campaign for the Environment said the effort could help reduce reliance on aging power plants.
Larger issue, supe says, is what comes after the closure
On Jan. 8, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, DEC, extended the deadline for completion of the Corrective Measures Assessment period and Report submission to ensure a complete assessment and adequate public engagement for the Town of Brookhaven’s landfill closure.
According to the DEC, the town must host a public meeting and conclude their assessment by April 15, 2026, and submit the Corrective Measures Assessment Report by May 1, 2026, a three-month extension from previous requirements.
Long Island developers hope a proposal to expedite an often lengthy environmental review process will make it easier to build in the region, where low supply has led to sky-high prices for homes in recent years.
While housing advocates have lauded the move, the reforms have drawn mixed feedback from Long Island lawmakers and advocates worried about the weakening of a strong legal tool to protect the environment.
A federal judge granted Empire Offshore Wind a preliminary injunction as it legally challenged the U.S. Department of the Interior’s order directing a suspension of five offshore wind projects along the East Coast, allowing the company to resume construction as local laborers called out against the freeze.
The White House said in December 2025 that it would halt leases for five wind farms under construction off the East Coast, including two off the coast of Long Island, citing national security concerns.
The Long Island Power Authority and Suffolk County have launched a new partnership to evaluate large-scale solar energy opportunities across major industrial areas in the county.
The project, announced Jan. 14 by LIPA CEO Carrie Meek Gallagher and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, will analyze rooftop solar potential, grid capacity, and permitting processes in key commercial zones. A consultant will be selected through a newly developed Request for Qualifications process.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed this week to take "a hard look" at the environmental review steps developers must follow to have state and local governments approve new home-building projects.
The current review process hasn't been updated "in literally half a century," and, in its current form, it holds up the construction of affordable housing New Yorkers desperately need now, the governor said Tuesday in a State of the State address in Albany. The governor hinted that changes could be underway that would get housing construction projects approved much faster and more easily.
State environmental conservation officials have given Brookhaven Town an additional three months to recommend cleanup plans for a miles-long toxic plume emanating from the town landfill.
The Department of Environmental Conservation set a new May 1 deadline for finishing the report, which is expected to outline plans for cleaning up the landfill after groundwater testing in 2023 discovered so-called "forever chemicals" in the plume, which extends about 4 miles from Brookhaven hamlet south toward Bellport Bay.
New York state is taking legal action against the Trump administration for halting construction of five offshore wind farms. Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul joined hundreds of workers whose livelihoods depend on projects already under construction.
Hochul on administration's explanation for pause: "It is BS"
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Developers of wind projects along the East Coast, two of them on Long Island, are escalating their battle against the trump administration’s freeze on further development.
They claim the projects pose a threat to national security. Governor Kathy Hochul joined union members in Hauppauge to lash out at Washington.
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the State’s $3.8 billion investment in local water infrastructure projects during State Fiscal Year 2025. A newly released New York State Clean Water Funding Report shows that New York delivered $1.1 billion in water quality grants in a single fiscal year, significantly reducing costs for local governments, families and businesses. Governor Hochul’s administration is providing unprecedented support to advance drinking water, wastewater and stormwater upgrades that are protecting public health and the environment, building community resiliency, improving quality of life and creating good-paying jobs.
Cleanup remedies at five Long Island hazardous waste sites "continue to be effective in protecting human health," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said this week, though some of the toxic areas need continued monitoring.
The agency conducted the federally mandated reviews at Superfund sites located in Glen Cove, Port Jefferson Station, Franklin Square and East Farmingdale. Across New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, 32 federal Superfund sites were appraised, which happen every five years, the EPA said.
The Trump administration on Monday renewed their campaign against two offshore wind projects in New York waters.
Citing unspecified national security risks, the U.S. Department of the Interior “paused” the leases for the Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind projects, both already under construction, plus three additional major offshore wind projects in other states.
