FOR RELEASE:
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
CONTACT:
Vanessa Baird-Streeter
Long Island Power Authority
Office: 516-719-9230
Cell: 516-640-0168
Media Pager: 516-525-LIPA
Email: media.relations@lipower.org
CONTACT:
Keri Ann Peterson
Eastern Energy Systems
Phone: 631-779-4004 X113
Fax: 631-466-5200
Email: media.relations@e2sys.com
www.e2sys.com
Peconic, NY—The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) in partnership with Osprey’s Dominion Vineyard and Eastern Energy Systems (E2sys) today celebrated the ground breaking for the first Wind Power turbine located in a vineyard on Long Island at Osprey’s Dominion Vineyard in Peconic, Long Island.
Osprey’s Dominion Vineyard commissioned Eastern Energy Systems, Inc. to install a 20k wind turbine at their North Fork winery in the Town of Southold. This will be LIPA’s first Farm Service turbine, undertaken through the Backyard Wind Initiative created this year. The wind turbine is expected to produce an estimated 42,802 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year for an annual energy savings of $7,918. The projected total cost of the project is $144,000. A LIPA rebate of $69,401 is anticipated, significantly off-setting the expense for the system. Osprey Dominion Vineyard may further reduce the cost of the system via a Federal tax incentive and by selling the excess electric energy produced back to LIPA.
“LIPA is excited to be breaking ground for our first wind power turbine on a farm undertaken through our Backyard Wind Initiative,” said LIPA President and CEO Kevin S. Law. “The installation of backyard wind turbines on Long Island will not only provide clean safe energy for the environment but it will help residential and commercial property owners, including the agricultural community, lower their bills. It is our hope that the Backyard Wind Program will succeed in transforming the wind industry just as LIPA’s Solar Pioneer program helped transform the solar industry on Long Island moving Long Island away from fossil fuels and creating more clean energy jobs.”
“E2sys, is raising the bar for the future of wind technology on Long Island by installing the first 20K wind turbine for a commercial application,” said E2sys President, Jamie Minnick, “Due to the LIPA Wind Rebate program and federal tax incentives, this turbine offers tremendous benefits for business owners to operate cost effectively, while providing educational and career opportunities for Long Island.” Jeffrey Lang, VP of E2sys, added, “This is the first of many wind projects on Long Island that we have lined up for the future. ”
“Osprey’s Dominion was the first winery on Long Island to power their ground’s maintenance equipment with biodiesel fuels, and have been doing so since 1999. With the help of the LIPA Backyard Wind rebate, the installation of this turbine is the next step towards our environmentally conscious vision,” said Bud Koehler, owner of Osprey Dominion Vineyard. Osprey’s Dominion will be hosting a gala Ribbon Cutting event this coming spring of 2010, and are currently planning the release of their first bottle of a limited edition “FLIGHT” wine, the first wine made with wind power.
“Combine Long Island’s reliable breezes with some open fields and LIPA’s new wind incentives and you get a powerful energy cocktail,” said Gordian Raacke, Executive Director of Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI). “I wouldn’t be surprised if folks will soon visit this visionary vineyard not only for its locally grown grapes but to learn how wind turbines allow us to harvest another valuable and local product.”
LIPA has made a 10 year, $924 million dollar commitment to investing in energy efficiency and renewable technologies under its Efficiency Long Island program (ELI) which offers a wide array of incentives, rebates and initiatives to LIPA’s residential and commercial customers to assist in reducing their energy usage and thereby lowering electric bills.
LIPA’s Backyard Wind Initiative was introduced in January 2009. The program provides rebates to homeowners, businesses, municipalities, and non-for-profits seeking to harness power from the wind through the use of land-based wind turbines. In addition, program participants may be eligible for a 30% Federal tax credit. These programs are consistent with Governor David Paterson’s “45 X 15” program that establishes the goal of New York State meeting 45% of its electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and renewable sources by the year 2015.
The rebate for new residential wind installations for 2009 will be rebated at the lesser of $3.50 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the first 16,000 kWh or 60% of the total installed cost, with a maximum rebate equal to $56,000. New commercial installations will be rebated at the lesser of $3.50 per kWh for the first 16,000 kWh and $0.50 per kWh thereafter up to a maximum of 175,200 kWh or 60% of the total installed cost with a maximum rebate equal to $135,600. New municipality and non-for-profit installations will be rebated at the lesser of $4.50 per kWh for the first 16,000 kWh and $1.50 kWh thereafter up to a maximum of 101,333 kWh or 60% of the installed cost with a maximum rebate of $200,000.
A total of $1.2 million was committed to the wind initiative in the LIPA operating budget for 2009 and is proposed to increase to almost $2 million in 2010. The wind power initiative is an expansion of the utility’s successful Solar Pioneer program which has rebated over $52.5 million on the installation of over 2100 photovoltaic or "PV” systems since its inception in 2000.
To learn more on LIPA’s Efficiency Long Island, Backyard Wind Initiative and other efficiency and renewable programs, visit the LIPA Web site at HYPERLINK "http://www.lipower.org/efficiency/renewables.html" http://www.lipower.org/efficiency/renewables.html.
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