Wednesday, 17 February 2010 12:32
At a meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature on February 2, 2010, Legislator Tom Cilmi was the only ‘no’ vote in a measure to lease seven County-owned parking lots to a private foreign company, EnXco, for $8.75 million over twenty years for the purpose of building solar car ports.
The solar carports will generate energy which EnXco will sell to LIPA through a power purchase agreement (PPA).
Cilmi commended the County Executive for pursuing alternative energy, but criticized the cost of the project to the LIPA ratepayers. According to a press release from LIPA, the cost of the project is $125 million.
Cilmi said, “I don’t begrudge a private company from making a profit, and I certainly support the use of alternative energy, but I cannot in good conscience support a bill which will effectively authorize LIPA to bill the ratepayers $125 million for this project. Our residents just cannot afford this additional expense. This is a good idea but it’s a bad deal.”
Cilmi continued, “This is a sleight of hand. Everyone feels good about alternative energy and applauds the revenue to the County while the LIPA ratepayers pay one heck of a ‘green premium.’ The fact of the matter is that LIPA doesn’t print money. Someone’s got to pay the bill. With some of the highest electricity rates in the Country, this adds to the burden at a time when we have plenty of excess capacity and nothing left in our pockets.”
