Next month, the Long Island Power Authority is due to choose a contractor to build the nation’s first "large-scale" fuel cell power plant at the West Babylon substation. Once in operation, the West Babylon substation will serve 75,000 homes, yet produce a tiny fraction of the emissions of a conventional fossil fuel plant. It will release no toxic mercury and make no noise. While having a negligible impact on the environment, this plant could also enable the town of Babylon to further economic development by capturing thermal energy and providing it to near-by industrial sites to heat buildings or water supplies.

As the first major fuel-cell power plant in America, West Babylon will be closely watched by power authorities and utilities across the country. It represents an opportunity to reduce the need for long-distance, high-voltage power lines and provide efficient power plants to meet local needs. Its success could help change the face of electric power in America; hence LIPA’s insistence on using proven technology and on the "creditworthiness" of its contractors for the job.

As it launches this pioneering project later this month, LIPA needs to consider the technological and management choices that will afford it the best chances of recording a stunning success - while affording the Babylon community with the richest options for its further economic development.

The writer is President and CEO of Radiance Services Company (a Bethesda, MD-based semi-conductor manufacturing technology firm), was Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (1988-89) and is a member of the Board of Directors of Sandia Corporation, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin that operates Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy.