New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced $280 million in support for energy storage projects last week, aimed at accelerating the growth of the energy storage industry and driving down the cost of deploying energy storage projects.
Announced during Earth Week, the $280 million for energy storage is part of a larger $400 million investment to achieve New York’s nation-leading energy storage deployment target of 3 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. The news comes only days after Governor Cuomo unveiled the state’s third annual solicitation for large-scale renewable energy projects, which is expected to add around 1.5 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of annual renewable electricity production.
This third solicitation also includes a provision seeking to encourage proposals that “cost-effectively” pair renewable energy projects with advanced energy storage technologies. This provision is built in to help the solicitations meet the Governor’s commitments to deploy 1,500 MW of energy storage by 2025 and 3,000 MW by 2030.
“While the federal administration denies the devastating reality of climate change, New York continues to invest in its future by building a more efficient clean energy system,” Governor Cuomo said. “Energy storage is vital to our resiliency work and this funding will enable us to grow the industry and create jobs while we continue on our path toward meeting the country’s largest energy storage target.”
“We’re investing in projects and programs to advance our aggressive energy goals across the state,” added Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “This funding continues our efforts to support clean energy and energy storage projects, growing the industry and creating good jobs. New York is leading the nation to ensure a cleaner and greener environment for future generations and working to combat climate change.”
The $280 million will be provided through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Market Acceleration Bridge Incentive Program which seeks to incentivize approximately two-thirds of New York’s 1,500 MW target of energy storage by 2025, supporting a self-sustaining market for the state. Funding will be available in two categories:
- $150 million for bulk storage projects: systems over five megawatts that primarily provide wholesale market energy or distribution services
- $130 million for retail storage projects: customer-sited systems below five megawatts, which are smaller and installed alone or paired with onsite generation such as solar
In addition to the newly-announced $280 million, another $70 million will be allocated by NYSERDA in the future based on opportunities that have the greatest potential to support a self-sustaining energy storage market. A further $53 million in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funds will be made available later in 2019 for retail and bulk storage projects located specifically on Long Island.
“Today’s bold action is one of the largest commitments to energy storage in the country and will build the energy storage industry while creating economic growth to advance Governor Cuomo’s commitment to fighting climate change,” said Alicia Barton, President and CEO, NYSERDA. “As more renewable energy resources such as wind and solar are brought online, energy storage will enhance the efficiency of the electric grid to better integrate these variable resources and provide New Yorker’s with a cleaner, more reliable energy system.”
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