Caithness Energy to propose two battery energy storage plants at Yaphank site

Caithness Energy, operator of Long Island’s most heavily used and efficient power plant, is proposing to build two battery energy storage plants on the Yaphank property, the company confirmed. 

The battery plants could be offered in an upcoming state solicitation for battery storage, a senior Caithness official said, and would require approval from the town of Brookhaven, among others.

The proposed Caithness Long Island Energy Storage projects are “aimed at supporting the integration of renewable energy sources, which will help reduce carbon emissions,” the company said in a statement confirming the move. “The site is ideally situated on an industrial-zoned, Caithness-owned property in close proximity to the LIPA Sills Road substation and is more than one-half mile from any residential property.”

Caithness bought 105 acres of land in Yaphank when it built the island’s first combined-cycle power plant, which increase efficiency by using waste heat to produce additional power. That plant uses only 21 of those acres and the batteries will use 20 acres. Caithness could still build the Caithness 2 plant of some 750 megawatts — more than twice the size of the original combined cycle plant. 

WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND

• Caithness Energy, operator of Long Island’s most heavily used and efficient power plant, is proposing to build two battery energy storage plants on the Yaphank property, the company confirmed. 
• The battery plants could be offered in an upcoming state solicitation for battery storage, a senior Caithness official said, and would require approval from the town of Brookhaven, among others.
• The proposed Caithness Long Island Energy Storage projects are “aimed at supporting the integration of renewable energy sources, which will help reduce carbon emissions,” the company said in a statement confirming the move.

The existing Caithness power plant, which began producing energy in 2009, remains the newest and most modern fossil-fuel plant on Long Island. The 350-megawatt combined-cycle plant, which produces 22% of Long Island’s locally generated energy, is contracted to LIPA through 2029.

The Caithness Long Island Energy Center, as it’s called, uses a fraction of the water other such plants do — the air-cooled plant uses around 16 gallons a minute, compared to hundreds of millions of gallons a year used by older plants.

Caithness said the battery project, if approved, “will be built using advanced battery storage technology. It will adhere to strict fire codes and safety standards, ensuring the safety and protection of all stakeholders involved.”

Fire concerns

Brookhaven, faced with a tidal wave of local opposition to eight separate battery storage plants proposed across the town, recently said it won’t approve any new projects until the state finalizes new dedicated fire-safety codes for the plants. Two are already in construction, in Patchogue and Holtsville.

Opposition has centered on fires at the plants across the state in 2023, including one owned by NextEra and National Grid in East Hampton. Nearly all Long Island towns have moratoriums on new battery-plants. 

The Caithness official said the battery projects could be operational by 2027, assuming they are accepted in an anticipated upcoming solicitation by New York State. They are already listed in the roster of projects with the New York Independent System Operator, which oversees the state grid.

Caithness previously offered the battery projects under an earlier LIPA solicitation, but the utility ultimately awarded contracts to another vendor who will build plants at Shoreham and Hauppauge.

The Caithness plants’ proposed lithium-ion batteries would be in separate containers, and use safety codes expected to be approved in the state for storage batteries later this year.

Brookhaven data center?

Caithness had previously proposed a 750-megawatt power plant, called Caithness 2, to be built on the same Yaphank property, but LIPA and its grid manager, PSEG Long Island, ultimately nixed the idea as not needed.

But there’s a remote chance the old plan for the bigger plant could be dusted off for a new-age use.

In recent weeks, Brookhaven National Laboratory has broached the notion of using a plant such as Caithness 2 to provide the dedicated level of power needed for a data center at the lab, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

A BNL spokesman declined to comment on the prospect of a new data-center or a new energy source to power it.

Neither LIPA nor the state, which has mandated an emission-free power grid by 2040, has reopened the door for Caithness 2, the official said. Such a plant would require a new natural gas line to fuel it. The previous plan for Caithness 2 involved a new natural gas line to power it.

“If they need more power we are certainly ready to consider it and would build something that’s upgraded from Caithness 1 in terms of efficiency,” the official said.

The prospect of a plant for Brookhaven National Laboratory is extremely preliminary, according to the three sources familiar with it, and there are no assurances the center will get a green light from the federal government or any local power source approved.

Caithness has spoken to technology firms in other parts of the country about providing dedicated power for planned data centers, a market that “absolutely” will be expanding over the next decade, the Caithness official said.

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.

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