By Michael Kuser
New York officials on Thursday outlined how the state plans to add 1,500 MW of energy storage by 2025, a target set by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who announced the release of the Energy Storage Roadmap in Queens, said it “represents the next crucial step forward to tackle climate change and further develop our clean energy economy.”
“Clean energy is the future of our planet, and New York will continue to lead the nation in this technology to fight climate change and conserve resources for generations to come,” Cuomo added in a statement.
In his annual State of the State address in January, Cuomo directed the NY Green Bank to invest $200 million to meet the 1,500-MW target — equal to the demand of one-fifth of New York homes. Cuomo also directed the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to invest at least $60 million in storage demonstration projects and efforts to reduce barriers to deploying energy storage, including permitting, customer acquisition, interconnection and financing costs. (See Cuomo Pushes Clean Energy in Annual Address.)
Developed by NYSERDA and the Public Service Commission, the Roadmap groups storage deployment into three market segments — customer‐sited, distribution system and bulk system — based on where the storage is located and the needs it serves. In bulk system deployments, energy storage can be a firming resource when paired with large‐scale intermittent renewables, can replace or complement peaker plants, and potentially defer transmission investment.
The Roadmap recommends providing $350 million in statewide market acceleration incentives to fast-track the adoption of advanced storage systems for customer sites or on the distribution or bulk electric systems.
The state has approximately 60 MW of advanced energy storage capacity deployed now, with another 500 MW being planned to add to the existing 1,400 MW of traditional pumped hydro storage.
The New York Power Authority is working on several energy storage projects to demonstrate the value of the technology, including work on multiple projects with the State University of New York. The SUNY New Paltz campus, for example, this spring completed a solar energy and battery storage system, and state officials plan a similar system at the SUNY Delhi campus.
New York will also add incentives for energy storage to NYSERDA’s successful NY-Sun initiative and plans regulatory changes to utility rates, utility solicitations and carbon values to reflect the system benefits and values of storage projects.
The state also will consider recommending modifications to wholesale market rules to enable storage participation, including allowing storage to meet both electric distribution system and wholesale system needs to provide greater value for ratepayers, NYSERDA said.
NY Green Bank has released a Request for Information to solicit interest from project developers for its $200 million investment.
The Roadmap begins the public input phase of the PSC’s storage proceeding, which will include multiple technical conferences to allow for feedback on recommendations and approaches identified (18-E-0130). Public comments on the Roadmap can be submitted via the Department of Public Service’s website.