A proposal to construct a new unit tripling the capacity of the facility received initial approvals in 2013, but did not proceed and was shelved in 2018.
[2][5] The power plant was developed as part of a 2003 request for proposal from LIPA for new generating plants on Long Island[6] that was a response to the Northeast blackout of 2003 and delays by Connecticut in activating the Cross Sound Cable,[7] and due to continued high peak demand over multiple years.
[8][9] This solicitation also resulted in construction of the Bethpage Energy Center; Pinelawn Power Plant in West Babylon, New York; and the Neptune Cable.
[1] In 2013, LIPA selected the Caithness Long Island II proposal for an additional 750 MW plant to be built on the site.
[3] It was approved by the Town of Brookhaven in 2014, but was not constructed due to subsequent projections by PSEG Long Island that Long Island's energy demands would decrease in the near future, and a push for increasing use of renewable energy, leading LIPA to not offer a purchase contract for the power.