LI's increasing energy demands require grid build-out

The story of our region's 21st century energy needs is a mixed bag, according to a report from the New York Independent System Operator, or NYISO, the independent, nonpartisan organization tasked with managing the state’s power grid and supply. Congestion on the electric grid due to vastly increased demands threatens reliability and hinders access to cheaper, cleaner energy sources, and this will only increase in the next decade.

It’s clear that increasing demand, available supply, and the adequacy of our delivery infrastructure need to be studied and properly addressed throughout New York State. The report’s implication is that we can’t ignore our projected electrical demands. We won’t have the luxury of suddenly building new electrical "highways," a multiyear process, to remedy a shortfall when it becomes a reality.

And that, NYISO notes, is a real possibility with an anticipated spike in demand over the next 10 years driven by heating, electric vehicle transportation, and the development of high-electric demand facilities like microchip fabrication and data centers.

New manufacturing projects throughout the state will further challenge the maxed-out grid system we all depend upon, NYISO cautions.

The organization also evaluates weather patterns that have become all too familiar, stating, "Extreme events, such as heatwaves or storms, pose a threat to grid reliability throughout the planning horizon and could result in deficiencies to serve demand statewide ..."

Long Island is barely interconnected to the statewide system. Only two aging, limited capacity transmission ties connect our congested 20th century infrastructure to the statewide grid. Simply put, current infrastructure isn’t keeping up with today’s demand or tomorrow’s predicted needs, putting the region in a precarious economic and quality-of-life situation. This profoundly underscores the need for more electric transmission.

Part of the answer is the Propel NY project, which for the first time adds a modern electric backbone on Long Island and expands a system that hasn’t seen real build-out in more than 30 years by adding new underground electric transmission lines and substations to the area network. The project strengthens the essential infrastructure that efficiently moves electricity to ultimately serve our homes and businesses. Adding three additional statewide grid links will better connect downstate and upstate and offer improved reliability, resiliency and access to lower-cost generation like hydro, wind and solar.

Propel NY's nearly 80 miles of new underground lines buried in mostly public roads and nine miles of submarine lines under Long Island Sound are designed to withstand severe weather and maintain the safety of area communities. It's worth noting that Orlando, Florida's underground electrical system was cited as the reason the city's power stayed on during last summer's Hurricane Milton. Long Island should take note.

Despite the obvious need, the project has seen critics emerge, suggesting the new cables are unnecessary if offshore wind turbines fail to materialize. What the critics fail to appreciate, or wish to ignore in their opposition, is that these cables are indifferent to where the power originates. Whether it is from Niagara Falls or a regional power station, they are designed to meet and anticipate our voracious demand for electricity. So while the critics might be able to delay its construction they cannot block its need.

Projecting the future electrical needs of millions of people is no easy task but we know for sure that tomorrow's increase in electrical demand will be exponential. The recent NYISO report will be viewed as either a blueprint to meet that future or a warning of the consequences if we fail.

This guest essay reflects the views of Bob Catell, chairman of the Advanced Energy Research Technology Center at Stony Brook University.