A newly installed 262-kilowatt solar system array is now operational at Hither Hills State Park in Montauk, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation announced last week.
The new solar system is projected to generate 360,000 kilowatt hours per year, covering the park’s entire electricity use and saving around $45,000 annually on electricity costs.
The agency has committed to transitioning to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030. Hither Hills is its 50th solar-powered project since 2012, and the $750,000 effort brings state parks’ solar production to 6.2 megawatts installed.
Long Island is the largest electricity user in the state parks system, accounting for about 30 percent of the agency’s overall electricity use, and also has the state’s highest electricity cost per watt.
“I congratulate New York State Parks on its commitment to renewable energy and on completing the solar installation that will serve the energy needs at Hither Hills State Park,” East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said in a statement issued by the State Parks Department last Thursday. “This step will complement the town’s efforts to reach a goal of using 100 percent renewable energy, which includes the first municipal solar-plus-battery storage project on Long Island, completed this spring at our Town Hall campus with the help of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.”
