Hauppauge, NY – On Tuesday, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) and Kevin Law, President and CEO of the Long Island Power Authority, announced $12.5 million in new Recovery Act funding for the Long Island Power Authority to launch a smart grid demonstration project. The project will create a “Smart Energy Corridor” along Route 110.

“Back in May, Kevin Law and I announced a plan to bring federal dollars to Long Island so the bustling Route 110 corridor could be outfitted with the latest Smart Grid technologies. Today we learned that our plan worked and LIPA will receive nearly $12.5 million to work with SUNY and bring Smart Grid efficiency to commercial, industrial and residential customers along Route 110. With this demonstration project, we will continue to lead the way as a green energy corridor, bringing the latest clean energy technologies to Long Islanders so we can all lower our utility bills and reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Israel said.

“We applaud President Obama, Secretary Chu, Governor Patterson and Congressman Israel as well as Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and our entire congressional delegation for assisting us in securing the federal dollars needed to implement our Smart Energy Corridor project,” Law said.  “This award will enable LIPA to continue its commitment to building a Smart Grid which encompasses ongoing LIPA projects, including smart metering, a 50MW solar program and LIPA-incentivized programs for customer owned renewable technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal.”

The Smart Energy Corridor project is a collaboration between LIPA, Stony Brook University and Farmingdale State College to create the first Smart Grid on LI.  This initiative will assist residential, commercial and industrial LIPA customers in monitoring and reducing energy usage and costs, increase electric reliability, encourage energy efficiency and create clean energy jobs.

In May, Israel and Law announced the Smart Energy Corridor plan, bringing together local interests including LIPA and two branches of SUNY to compete for federal dollars with one unified proposal. The Smart Energy Corridor runs along Route 110 from Rte 109 in Babylon to the Long Island Expressway in Huntington, Long Island’s “Main Street.” The project would integrate a suite of smart grid technologies; smart meters, distribution automation, distributed energy resources and electric vehicle charging stations.  The project will also include testing of cyber security systems, identifying the optimal combination of features to encourage consumer participation and educating the public about the tools and techniques available with the Smart Grid.

Israel worked with LIPA on the smart grid funding application process, held a Smart Grid Summit at SUNY Farmingdale, spoke with top Department of Energy officials and led a letter to the Department of Energy in support of the LIPA project. For 2009, Israel secured $713,625 in federal funds for a LIPA smart metering pilot project.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced $620 million for 32 demonstration projects nationally. The funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be leveraged with $1 billion in funds from the private sector to support more than $1.6 billion in total Smart Grid projects nationally.

Rep. Israel serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water and is the co-chairman of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition.