West Coast firm to begin its second solar project for Brookhaven

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A California solar energy company is partnering with a White Plains firm to build a $2 million solar facility on land owned by the Town of Brookhaven. 

Coast Energy, headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., and White Plains-based i.on renewables LLC, are partnering to build a 1.5-megawatt solar generating facility on 3.5 acres at the town’s Holtsville Ecology Center at 249 Buckley Road in Holtsville. The town is leasing the land to the solar developers and the facility will be connected to PSEG Long Island’s electric grid. 

The Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency closed on economic incentives for the project last month. 

This is the second solar project that Coast Energy will build on Brookhaven Town property. Its first project, which Coast Energy acquired in 2022, is an 8.6-megawatt facility currently under construction on top of the capped Brookhaven landfill. 

“We couldn’t be more pleased to be collaborating with the IDA/Town of Brookhaven and I.On Renewables on a second project,” Kip Perry, Coast Energy’s chief development officer, said in a town statement. “The Holtsville solar site once again demonstrates how we successfully collaborate with solar development partners like Daniel Prokopy at I.On Renewables and help leverage and support their project development efforts with our development capital facility that can fund pre-NTP activities. It is great to see this in action once again, and the resulting benefit to the community speaks volumes about the importance of collaborative relationships. Coast looks forward to the completion of another successful project with our partner while continuing to support additional development in the region.” 

The operators of the new facility will use the Holtsville Ecology Center installation to provide additional solar-generated energy to the residents of the town, including a portion at reduced rates. 

“This project will convert a dormant tract of land into a value-added site for the community that delivers affordable electricity to Brookhaven residents,” Frederick Braun, Brookhaven IDA chairman, said in the statement. “The IDA and the Town of Brookhaven have long been leaders in bringing renewable energy to Long Island.”