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Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of coal, will soon export solar power to its Asian neighbors if a massive solar farm backed by billionaires goes ahead.

Situated in a Newcastle Waters cattle station halfway between Alice Springs and Darwin, the $20 billion plant will span over 12,000 hectares and generate 10 gigawatts of electrical power. Investors for the project, which is being run by Singaporean company Sun Cable, include billionaires Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brookes.

But it won’t be only Australians benefitting from this giant solar farm. Most of the energy will be transported all the way to Singapore.

How Will Energy from the Solar Farm Be Transported to Singapore?

Alongside the development of the solar farm, the world’s largest battery and longest submarine power cable will be constructed to export the electricity from Australian soil to Singapore.

The battery will be developed and stationed near Darwin, approximately 750km north of the solar farm. While a proportion of the power will be siphoned off into Darwin’s electricity grid, as much as two-thirds will be transported to Singapore via a 4,500-kilometer-long underwater cable known as a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) network.

After traveling through Indonesian waters, the electricity will arrive in Singapore and is expected to supply power to 20% of the country’s population. 

What Is the Project’s Timeline?

Sun Cable is waiting on various approvals before the project can commence, which includes environmental assessments by the Northern Territory’s Environmental Protection Authority.

If it goes as planned, development will begin in 2023, the first energy will be produced by 2026, and the first export to Singapore will be by 2027.

Not only will the project be a ground-breaking moment for the clean energy industry, but it will allow Australia the opportunity to reduce its global emissions and provide thousands of construction jobs to people from local indigenous communities. As it stands, Australia is responsible for 1.4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Image Credit: myphotobank.com.au / Shutterstock.com

More from Industry Trends

As states across the nation consider different solutions to reform net energy metering (NEM) to address the higher costs and cost shift caused by outdated net metering policies, Dominion Energy South Carolina this week defended its proposed solar choice metering tariff in the Palmetto State as fair and necessary.

“The reality is that solar customers on our system still rely on non-solar generating sources 75 percent of the time, and it’s only fair that they share the costs,” Ashley Cunningham, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy South Carolina, told Daily Energy Insider.

The South Carolina Energy Freedom Act, which unanimously passed the South Carolina legislature and then was signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster on May 16, 2019 as Act 62, empowers electric customers to make their own decisions about the installation of solar panels on their homes or businesses.

And in accordance with Act 62, Dominion Energy South Carolina was required to file a successor tariff, which it did, proposing a solar subscription fee and rate changes for solar customers’ basic service, among other items. Dominion’s proposal is currently under consideration in hearings being held this week by the South Carolina Public Service Commission (SCPSC).

“The law was very intentional in its efforts to make sure customers do not suffer from subsidization when solar is added to the system — basically that one group of customers doesn’t unfairly pay higher prices to benefit another group of customers,” Cunningham said. “Dominion Energy can’t generate solar power on rainy days, but all of our customers — those with solar and those without — count on us to provide uninterrupted service, even when the sun isn’t shining.”

The approximately 11,000 Dominion Energy customers in South Carolina who use solar on their properties also export a lot of it back to the grid. This means about 740,000 non-solar customers must pay for maintaining power lines, generation stations and all other associated costs, while also paying for the energy their utility is producing, explained Cunningham.

“We agree with solar developers on the importance of solar growth in South Carolina, but we can’t forget about so many who are struggling financially,” Cunningham said. “We heard them during our recent regulatory rate review, and we paused that process. These are the same customers we’re trying to protect from unfair subsidization.”

As Cunningham further explained, Dominion Energy South Carolina’s proposed solar choice net metering tariff incorporates several ratemaking tools that work in conjunction with the South Carolina General Assembly’s intent in Act 62.

“Existing solar customers will continue to receive one-to-one compensation until the end of 2025 or into 2029, depending on when they initially enrolled,” she said. “This grandfathering period was also determined by the state legislature in Act No. 62.”

If approved, Dominion customers in the state could elect to put solar on their roofs and sign up for the new rate on June 1, 2021.

“With the proposed tariff, solar customers can take advantage of a special time-of-use rate plan, which encourages them to conserve energy,” Cunningham said. “If solar customers are willing to change their consumption patterns and take advantage of the approximately $0.07/kWh rate — available for all but the peak time periods — and use their solar energy during peak periods, the economic benefits are clear and there is essentially no difference from the payback periods people enjoy today.”

Solar customers also would benefit from the actual value of the energy they export to the grid, said Cunningham. “The more energy the customer uses on-site, the greater the benefits to the customer,” she said. “If residential systems are oversized and rely more heavily on export value, the benefits are reduced. This is a big win for customers who want more freedom and control over their bill.”

Opponents of Dominion’s plan, including the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Solar Energy Industries Association, say the utility’s proposed charges could end up costing the average homeowner with rooftop solar more than $750 a year. They also contend that by adding grid access charges, a monthly subscription cost, and a low export rate for net metering customers, Dominion is inflating solar costs and disincentivizing investments in rooftop solar.

Cunningham said that Dominion Energy South Carolina recognizes that certain intervenors would prefer that solar subsidies continue in full, but said that the law does not allow for that.

“Rather, it requires the commission to establish solar choice metering requirements that fairly allocate cost and benefits in order to eliminate any cost shift or subsidization associated with net metering to the greatest extent practicable,” she told Daily Energy Insider.

The South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff has agreed with Dominion’s proposal, which also is supported by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), which represents all of the nation’s investor-owned electric companies, including Dominion Energy.

“The intent of the original net metering policy was to incentivize early adopters, not to create huge subsidies from one group of customers to another,” testified Adam Benshoff, EEI’s vice president of regulatory affairs, during Tuesday’s virtual public hearing on Dominion’s proposed tariff.

“Now that the cost of solar systems has come down significantly, there’s simply no need for these continued subsidies,” Benshoff told SCPSC commissioners. “And in states that have seen rapid growth in rooftop solar, they have had to develop new policies to reform net metering to provide continuing certainty for the marketplace.”

Benshoff pointed out that South Carolina is one of 14 states that are either in the process of transitioning away from retail NEM or have already adopted an alternative compensation mechanism. The reason for this transition seems to vary by state, but there are some common threads, Benshoff told the SCPSC.

“Commissions seem to clearly recognize now that retail net energy metering does unfairly compensate customer generators for the services that they provide or, more accurately, under the retail structure, for the services that they’re not providing, like transmission and distribution services,” he testified.

Some of the incentives originally created in the early 1980s to jumpstart this market, Benshoff added, “are simply no longer needed due to the falling price of renewable energy.” And the substantial cost shift from NEM participating customers to non-participants … creates inequities” between those who can and cannot afford rooftop solar, he said.

“There are a number of ways to transition from retail net metering and we’re seeing them implemented across the country,” Benshoff said. “The [Dominion] proposal before you appears consistent with the Act 62 directive to fairly allocate costs and benefits to eliminate that cost shift to the greatest extent possible.”

Following today’s virtual public hearing on Dominion Energy South Carolina’s proposal, which is slated to run into the early morning hours of Wednesday, the SCPSC meets again to discuss the proposal on March 24.

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Renewable energy stocks soared in 2020, but they have struggled so far in 2021.

For some companies, their stock prices may have shot past reasonable levels, and caused investors to rethink their bullishness. But analysts are starting to warm to renewables again, and the industry could be helped by the Biden administration’s plans to subsidize clean energy projects.

To find beaten-down stocks that trade in the U.S. and offer investors exposure to renewable energy, Barron’s looked at the components of the

First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Green Energy Index

exchange-traded fund (QCLN), which tracks U.S-listed companies in the clean energy space. The ETF is down 3.4% this year, but some components have fallen much more. We screened for the worst performers, as long as they were still expected to post big sales growth this year. The companies in the screen are expected to grow sales by at least 20% this year over 2020.

It’s important to note that all of these stocks — aside from

Array Technologies

(ARRY), which went public in October — more than doubled in 2020, so the latest drop may simply be a cooling off.

Array produces equipment for utility-scale solar projects that allows those panels to track the sun, moving them into optimal positions throughout the day. Its products are in high demand as utility companies are adding more solar energy around the country, in part to comply with state mandates. 

JinkoSolar

(JKS) is a Chinese company that has been ranked as the largest producer of solar panels in the world. Chinese panel-makers have dominated the global market, but their profitability has been hurt by consistently falling prices, and some face political risks.

Azure Power Global

(AZRE) is an Indian company that develops and operates solar power plants. It sells electricity to utilities and commercial customers. 

Both

Sunnova Energy International

(NOVA) and

Sunrun

(RUN) are installers and developers of solar panels that help homeowners and others place panels on their roofs and finance those panels. Both companies have been consolidating the fragmented market in the past year, buying up other players.

Sunrun is the largest player in the market, expanding its lead after buying Vivint Solar last year. Sunnova boasted of a 57% customer growth rate in 2020, despite the challenges posed by Covid-19.

Write to avi.salzman@barrons.com

The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) has recently approved a 20-megawatt solar power plant project in Monorom commune, Svay Teap district, Svay Rieng province.

Invested by Green Sustainable Ventures (Cambodia) Co., Ltd., the $17.6 million project is expected to generate some 150 jobs for the locals, pointed out the CDC in its press release.

Cambodia’s existing operational solar power stations include a 10-megawatt and a 5-megawatt solar farms in Bavet city, Svay Rieng province, an 80-megawatt solar station in Kampong Speu province and a 60-megawatt solar station in Kampong Chhnang province, and a 60-megawatt solar station in Battambang province’s Thmar Kol district. C. Nika

<p>Most gardeners know how beneficial insects can be for their plots. <a href=”https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/flies.shtml” target=”_blank”>Flies pollinate flowers</a>. Predatory bugs, such as the <a href=”http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/podisus_maculiventris.htm” target=”_blank”>spined shoulder bug</a>, eat pest insects that otherwise would tuck into garden plants.</p><p>As a <a href=”https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tzo9De0AAAAJ&amp;hl=en” target=”_blank”>scientist whose research involves insects</a> and as a gardener, I know that <a href=”https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023989118″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>many beneficial insect species are declining</a> and <a href=”https://theconversation.com/is-an-insect-apocalypse-happening-how-would-we-know-113170″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>need humans’ help</a>. If you’re a gardener looking for a new challenge this year, consider revamping all or part of your yard to support beneficial insects.</p>

<span style=”display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;” class=”rm-shortcode” data-rm-shortcode-id=”dbd5f9d0d07eafbecf4eb6c0c0fb2eee”><iframe lazy-loadable=”true” src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/H-iIgTNdmRo?rel=0″ width=”100%” height=”auto” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” style=”position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;”></iframe></span>

<h3>Lawns Are Insect Food Deserts</h3><p>Some gardeners <a href=”https://plants.usda.gov/checklist.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>choose native plants</a> to attract and support helpful insects. Often, however, those native plants are surrounded by vast expanses of lawn.</p><p>The vast majority of insect species find blades of grass as unappetizing as we do. Yet, lawns sprawl out across many public and private spaces. <a href=”https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Lawn” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>NASA estimated in 2005</a> that lawns covered at least 50,000 square miles (128,000 square kilometers) of the U.S. – about the size of the entire state of Mississippi.</p><p>A well-manicured lawn is a sure sign that humanity has imposed its will on nature. Lawns provide an accessible and familiar landscape, but they come at a cost for our six-legged neighbors. Grasses grown as turf provide very few places for insects to safely tuck themselves away, because homeowners and groundskeepers cut them short – before they send up flowering spikes – and apply fertilizers and pesticides to keep them green.</p><p>Entomologists have a recommendation: Dig up some fraction of your lawn and convert it into a meadow by <a href=”https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2002547117″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>replacing grass with native wildflowers</a>. Wildflowers provide pollen and nectar that feed and attract a variety of insects like ants, native bees and butterflies. Just as you may have a favorite local restaurant, insects that live around you have a taste for the flowers that are native to their areas.</p>

<div id=”05e4d” class=”rm-shortcode” data-rm-shortcode-id=”90801fb47b83f837421e23aa25184357″><blockquote class=”twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet” data-twitter-tweet-id=”1148380445261946886″ data-partner=”rebelmouse”><div style=”margin:1em 0″>Have you thought about this?

https://t.co/nz31BXYKKI</div> &mdash; David Steen, Ph.D. (@David Steen, Ph.D.)<a href=”https://twitter.com/AlongsideWild/statuses/1148380445261946886″>1562630208.0</a></blockquote></div>

<p>This bold choice will not just benefit insects. Healthier insects support local birds, and meadows require fewer chemical inputs and less mowing than lawns. The amount of attention lawns demand from us, even if we outsource the work to a landscaping company, is a sign of their precarity.</p><p>A meadow is a wilder, more resilient option. Resilient ecosystems are better able to respond to and recover from disturbances.</p><p>Entomologist <a href=”https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3EsB164AAAAJ&amp;hl=en” target=”_blank”>Ryan Gott</a>, integrated pest management and quality control specialist at Maitri Genetics in Pittsburgh, describes lawns and meadows as two opposite ends of a resiliency spectrum. “As far as basic ecological functions go, a lawn does not have many. A lawn mainly extracts nutrition and water, usually receiving outside inputs of fertilizer and irrigation to stay alive, and returns very little to the system,” he told me.</p><p>Native flowers, by definition, will grow well in your climate, although some areas will have more choices than others and growing seasons vary. Native plants also provide a palette of colors and variety that lawns sorely lack. By planting them as a meadow, with many different flowers emerging throughout the growing season, you can provide for a diverse assortment of local insects. And mowing and fertilizing less will leave you more time to appreciate wildlife of all sizes.</p><p>There are many different types of meadows, and every wildflower species has different preferences for soil type and conditions. Meadows thrive in full sunlight, which is also where lawns typically do well.</p>

<h3>Making Insects Feel at Home</h3><p>Not every yard can support a meadow, but there are other ways to be a better, more considerate neighbor to insects. If you have a shady yard, consider modeling your garden after natural landscapes like woodlands that are shady and support insects.</p><p>What’s important in landscaping with insects in mind, or “entoscaping,” is <a href=”https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/insects-and-man/gardening-for-insects.html” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>considering insects early and often</a> when you visit the garden store. With a few pots or window boxes, even a balcony can be converted into a cozy insect oasis.</p><p>If you’re gardenless, you can still support insect health. Try replacing white outdoor lights, which <a href=”https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/light-pollution-contributes-insect-apocalypse-180973642/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>interfere with many insects’ feeding and breeding patterns</a>. White lights also lure insects into swarms, where they are vulnerable to predators. <a href=”https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-figured-out-the-type-of-light-bulb-to-use-if-you-want-to-avoid-insects” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Yellow bulbs or warm-hued LEDs</a> don’t have these effects.</p><p>Another easy project is using scrap wood and packing materials to create simple “hotels” for <a href=”https://modernfarmer.com/2017/02/build-native-bee-hotel/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>bees</a> or <a href=”https://www.hgtv.com/design/make-and-celebrate/handmade/craft-a-ladybug-hotel” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>ladybugs</a>, making sure to carefully sanitize them between seasons. Easiest of all, <a href=”https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=26345″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>provide water for insects to drink</a> – they’re adorable to watch as they sip. Replace standing water at least weekly to prevent mosquitoes from developing.<br></p>

<h3>A Refuge in Every Yard</h3><p>Many resources across the U.S. offer advice on converting your lawn or making your yard more insect-friendly.</p><p>The Xerces Society for Insect Conservation publishes a <a href=”https://xerces.org/publications/guidelines/establishing-pollinator-meadows-from-seed” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>guide to establishing meadows</a> to sustain insects. Local university extension offices <a href=”https://extension.unh.edu/resource/planting-pollinators-establishing-wildflower-meadow-seed-fact-sheet” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>post tips on growing meadows</a> with specific instructions and resources for their areas. Gardening stores often have experience and carry selections of local plants.</p><p>You may find established communities of enthusiasts for local plants and seeds, or your journey could be the start of such a group. Part of the fun of gardening is learning what plants need to be healthy, and a new endeavor like entoscaping will provide fresh challenges.</p><p>In my view, humans all too often see ourselves as separate from nature, which leads us to relegate biodiversity to designated parks. In fact, however, we are an important part of the natural world, and <a href=”https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/benefits” target=”_blank”>we need insects</a> just as much as they need us. As ecologist <a href=”https://www.udel.edu/canr/departments/entomology-and-wildlife-ecology/faculty-staff/doug-tallamy/” target=”_blank”>Douglas Tallamy</a> argues in his book, <a href=”https://www.workman.com/products/natures-best-hope” target=”_blank”><em>Nature’s Best Hope</em></a>, the best way to protect biodiversity is for people to plant native plants and promote conservation in every yard.</p>

<p>
<em>Brian Lovett is a postdoctoral researcher in mycology at West Virginia University.<br/>
</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: Brian Lovett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href=”https://theconversation.com/to-help-insects-make-them-welcome-in-your-garden-heres-how-153609″ target=”_blank”>The Conversation</a>.</em>
</p><script async=”async” data-counter=”https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153609/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced” id=”theconversation_tracker_hook” src=”https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js” type=”text/javascript”></script>

WILLISTON, Vt.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–iSun, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISUN) (“iSun” or the “Company”), a leading solar energy and clean mobility infrastructure company with 50 years of construction expertise for solar, electrical and data services, today announced that it has been selected to provide its innovative solar products and services for phase one of one of the nation’s largest solar plus storage microgrid projects underway in Jackson, TN.

Highlights

• Award highlights synergies between iSun’s long-standing Peck solar EPC services and iSun’s innovative solutions and strong presence in the solar market
• $25 million award accelerates iSun’s entry into a new geography
• Is a model CDE, NRI, and iSun can replicate across the country

Phase one of the multi-phase project led by industry pioneer Northern Reliability is the vision of Community Development Enterprises (“CDE”) whose mission is to provide green energy solutions and economic relief to cities across the United States that have been hit with natural disasters and economic challenges over the past decade. Under the agreement, iSun will provide Engineering Procurement and Construction (“EPC”) services for the 16MW ground mount solar energy infrastructure. iSun’s estimated contract value is approximately $25 million with installations beginning in late-summer 2021.

“The selection of iSun as the provider of the solar portion of this project is testament to the Company’s established position as a high-quality EPC partner in the solar energy market and iSun’s innovative solar products and solutions. Our team has the ability to engage at all stages of a project to provide EPC expertise, innovation recommendations and confidence in our ability to execute,” said Jeffrey Peck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of iSun. “We are excited to be working with such forward thinking partners in NRI and CDE that share our values. Constructed solar assets will provide immediate local jobs and benefits to the Jackson, TN area for decades to come, and we are looking forward to continuing to work together to pursue similar opportunities across the nation.”

“We evaluated multiple proposals for our Jackson solar microgrid from qualified EPCs and it was clear to us that the iSun proposal stood out as superior. CDE has selected iSun because of the high-quality and detail presented in their 16MW array facility design, their flexibility in adapting to our usual site and use case demands, the overall completeness of their scope, and the high votes of confidence provided by their long-term customers,” remarked Dennis Emberling, President and CEO of CDE in Jackson.

Emberling continued, “This project is part of a larger effort by CDE to help Jackson redevelop. It will bring new businesses, new jobs, new educational opportunities, and $211M in economic impact to Jackson, including contributions to their infrastructure and community organizations. In selecting our Project Partners, it was important that our Partners shared the values of the communities that we are serving. We think CDE and iSun are a fit, and we look forward to doing many projects together in the near future.”

Gregg Noble, Vice President of Sales & Development of Northern Reliability, Inc., added, “The team at NRI is pleased to make this announcement regarding the selection of iSun as the PV vendor for the Jackson Solar Microgrid project. iSun will be a valuable part of the team as we push forward CDE’s vision of redeveloping the City of Jackson into a green energy hub and energy model of the future. The success in Jackson is critical towards understanding the economic potential which exists in all of America’s hardest hit communities. It is not a story about technology, it is a hopeful story about the path forward. We are proud to be moving down that path with a partner like iSun who shares that same positive vision for the business and citizens of this community.”

About iSun, Inc.

Headquartered in Williston, VT, iSun, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISUN) is a business rooted in values that align people, purpose, innovation, and sustainability. Ranked by Solar Power World as one of the leading commercial solar contractors in the Northeastern United States, iSun provides energy services, smart city innovations and clean mobility infrastructure to customers for projects from smart solar mobile phone and electric vehicle charging, up to multi-megawatt renewable energy solutions. Since entering the renewable energy market in 2012, iSun has installed over 200 megawatts of rooftop, ground mount and EV carport solar systems (equal to power required for 38,000 homes). We continue to focus on profitable growth opportunities. For more information, visit www.isunenergy.com

About Northern Reliability, Inc.

Northern Reliability, Inc. (“NRI”) is a US-based power systems integrator and the oldest operating engineering firm in the energy storage space based in Waterbury, Vermont. Initially formed as the energy storage and hybrid power systems division of Northern Power (formerly TSX:NPS) in the early 1970s, the NRI engineers broke off to become a separate organization. Having designed and deployed over 1,100 off-grid and microgrid power systems around the planet, the NRI team made news in T&D World Magazine 2017, 2018, and 2019 when it was awarded a unique $1.3M Grid-Tied Distributed Energy System Project for Xcel Energy in Denver, CO, the largest grid-tied solar + storage project in the Southern U.S., for Today’s Power, Inc. in Fayetteville, Arkansas 12MW-26.1MWh, and for a transportable storage contract with EPRI and the US Navy. In March 2021, NRI co-founded the first Mobile Energy Storage platform Nomad Transportable Power Systems. Visit www.northernreliability.com

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about (i) the benefits of the proposed acquisition, including future financial and operating results, cost savings and synergies, effects on cash flow, market accessibility, financing opportunities, enhancements to revenue and accretion to reported earnings that may be realized from the proposed acquisition; (ii) iSun’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts; and (iii) other statements identified by words such as “expects” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “targets,” “projects,” or words of similar meaning generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the respective management of iSun and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of iSun. In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. Actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results discussed in these forward-looking statements because of possible uncertainties.

The next step in Patchogue’s transformation is set to take place with the installation of solar panels and LED street lights — part of a $5.8 million effort to upgrade village infrastructure and cut greenhouse gases, officials said.

The project — including installation of three electric car charging stations and upgrades to heating and ventilation systems at village hall and village-owned Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts — is expected to save the village $8.2 million over 25 years by reducing energy usage and cutting annual payments to PSEG Long Island, Mayor Paul Pontieri said.

The energy system, to be designed and installed by Ireland-based international energy company Johnson Controls, is modeled on a similar system approved last year by Lindenhurst Village officials, Pontieri said. Construction of the Patchogue system is expected to begin soon and should be completed by summer 2022, he said.

“I saw what they are doing over in Lindenhurst,” he said. “The village incorporated in 1893. Half of [the village’s infrastructure] are probably from 1893.”

The new system comes as Patchogue has spruced up its downtown by transforming itself from a 19th-century mill town to a modern village with apartments and trendy businesses.

When it’s finished, Patchogue will have solar panels on the roofs of Village Hall and the theater and solar “carports” at each location, as well as at the village public works building and the beach club on Maiden Lane, Pontieri said.

Streetlight bulbs will be replaced with LED systems, and Village Hall’s ancient oil heating system will be switched to gas, he said.

He said the village’s $327,000 annual lease payment for the system would be partially offset by $187,850 in annual energy savings, $34,000 worth of operations and maintenance savings and $27,000 in PSEG rebates.

Chris Fitzsimmons, an energy solutions account executive in Johnson Controls’ Syosset office, said the Patchogue system should generate about $32,000 annually in revenue from the sale of excess power to PSEG. He said in addition to the Patchogue and Lindenhurst systems, the company has designed smaller systems for Lynbrook and East Rockaway.

“We‘re starting to see a new interest in villages and local government right now to help with costs,” Fitzsimmons said. “It’s budget-neutral. There’s no upfront costs.”

Upgrades to the Patchogue theater’s ventilation system should help the performing arts center — a key to the village’s revitalization over the past decade — reopen after it was closed for a year because of coronavirus restrictions, Pontieri said.

Switching to green energy also will help achieve a goal of village officials to make Patchogue more environmentally friendly, he added.

“That’s part of the goal here, too, to be one of those communities that looks at their carbon footprint and how we make it better for future genrations,” Pontieri said.