New York could support 27,400 energy storage jobs by 2030, according to a December report by the American Jobs Project and the New York Battery Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST.)
“There’s really a good collection of companies, universities and research centers to support the industry that can serve as seeds for the development of energy storage industry clusters,” said William Acker, executive director of NY-Best, a not-for-profit working to position New York as a global leader in energy storage.
“The New York Jobs Project: A Guide to Creating Jobs in Energy Storage,” offers policy recommendations to elevate local manufacturers and create good-paying jobs to complement state efforts to boost distributed energy.
3,450 energy storage jobs now in New York
Energy storage companies currently employ 3,450 workers and generate nearly $1 billion in revenue in New York, according to the report. The 27,400 jobs envisioned in the report include work in both manufacturing and installation.
Ackman said that NY-Best began working last summer with the American Jobs Project, a think tank focused on creating economic development in the advanced energy and manufacturing industries.
“We knew that there was a lot of momentum in New York to spur growth in the energy storage sector,” Ackman told Microgrid Knowledge. “The PSC [public service commission] for instance, just released a roadmap, an action plan, to open the market in New York State by establishing market rules, and we’re very eager to see, and help, develop an ecosystem that can realize the state’s goals.”
The report was released the same week that the commission approved new targets and strategies to increase energy storage, several of them based on the roadmap.
Developing an energy storage industry ecosystem
The report identifies strategies to “address barriers and untapped opportunities” in the state’s energy storage industry.
The strategies include systemic support for entrepreneurs, access to capital, workforce development, and integration of efforts between suppliers, customers, policymakers and economic development organizations to attract investment and recruit businesses.
The two organizations have been reaching out to key stakeholders to help develop an energy storage industry “ecosystem” in New York.
“We’ve had a good reception, and we’ve seen important steps being taken by the state university system. We’ve met with university leaders, and they have started processes to improve workforce development, including launching new programs,” Ackman said. “And the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority has started some workforce development activities to drive projects in the sector along roadmap lines, as well. So it’s starting to happen.”
The report is available on the American Jobs Project site.
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