Energy storage companies, as well as other stakeholders, in New York have a new opportunity as of this week. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that it has made $15.5 million available to fund energy storage projects to support the electric grid.
The funding will go toward energy storage that can support renewable energy technologies, save customers money, and ease peak electric demand burdens on the power grid. The announcement is a step in the state’s long-term investment in the energy storage sector as part of its Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) strategy.
“Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, the state is leading in the development and use of clean energy technologies, including storage. We are now seeking the next wave of innovation to bring to customers the benefits of energy storage, and to make energy use more efficient and the environment cleaner for all New Yorkers,” said John Rhodes, NYSERDA president and CEO.
The funding is a step in the state’s long-term investment in the energy storage sector as part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) strategy.
Hardware costs are declining and interest in energy storage is on the rise. That said, storage involves numerous stakeholders, programs, and difficult financial arrangements that can often be hard to navigate.
NYSERDA leadership explained that the funding will work to address these challenges by honing in on projects that show how energy storage can provide benefits and increase revenues among a wide range of stakeholders, such as storage vendors, utilities, developers and more.
John Carrington, CEO of software and energy storage company Stem, voiced his support for the program shortly after it was announced.
“Driven by grid congestion challenges and a goal to decarbonize regional electricity systems while, encouraging customer participation, the New York market is ripe for energy storage growth—and nowhere is that potential greater than at the commercial scale,” said Carrington.
NYSERDA accepting concept papers
NYSERDA will be accepting concept papers from interested parties describing their storage projects through March 1, 2020, or until all funds are committed. The organization will then pick the best projects to submit follow-up proposals for feasibility studies or full demonstration projects, which it will fund.
According to the NYSERDA, concept papers should focus on technologies that are already commercially available and have the potential to be replicated. They must also focus on the state’s energy goals, such as renewable generation and greenhouse gas reduction.
Through its Value Stacking Pilot Projects solicitation (PON 3541), NYSERDA seeks proposals that bring value to multiple stakeholders such as consumers, utilities, and the wholesale market. Applicants should show how “energy storage can reduce costs and/or increase revenues for multiple stakeholders while creating a cleaner, more resilient energy system.
[clickToTweet tweet=”John Rhodes – We are now seeking the next wave of innovation to bring to customers the benefits of energy storage. ” quote=”John Rhodes – We are now seeking the next wave of innovation to bring to customers the benefits of energy storage.”]
“The funding announced will advance energy storage demonstration projects to quantify the broad benefits and wide range of services provided by storage and, in the process, support the wide-scale deployment of energy storage in New York.” said William Acker, executive director of the New York Battery & Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST).
The projects funded through the new $15.5 million allotment will join the more than 50 energy storage technology development projects across the state that the NYSERDA is already supporting as part of its energy storage program.
Subscribe to the free Microgrid Knowledge newsletter to stay on top of the news as more states fund energy storage projects.
