NYC Sets Energy Storage Target..Biggest Battery Network Yet for Water…DOE Focuses on Community Energy
NYC sets energy storage target
New York City has become the first major U.S. city to set an energy storage target — 100 MWh by 2020 – as a companion to the growing use of solar in the city.
Solar capacity has nearly tripled in the city, from 25 MW to 96 MW, since 2014 when Bill de Blasio took office as mayor.
The city says its buildings department expects to issue permits for more than 3,000 solar panel installations this year, which would bring the citywide total to more than 8,000 installations. That is an increase from 1,819 installations at the start of the administration.
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The Blasio administration also says it is on track to meet its OneNYC goal of installing 100 MW of solar power on public buildings and spurring the installation of 250 MW on private buildings by 2025. The city has expanded its solar target to 1,000 MW by 2030.
Local utility Consolidated Edison said it supports the city’s targets.
“We are actively working with government agencies and the solar industry to encourage more solar development. To this point, our New York City customers have completed more than 6,500 solar projects, producing about 80 megawatts (MW) of clean renewable power. We’re the fifth-largest solar developer nationwide, and we’ve reduced our carbon footprint 48 percent since 2005, equal to taking half a million vehicles off the road,” said Matthew Ketschke, Con Edison’s vice president of distributed resource integration.
The Energy Storage Association described the city’s energy storage target as a big step for the industry that will serve as a model for other major cities.
Energy storage to the rescue for California water
Advanced Microgrid Solutions will install what is believed to be the largest network of energy storage systems at a public water agency. The recipient will be the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD).
For the water district, the project is a way to save more than $500,000 per year, help stabilize and balance demand on the strapped Southern California electrical grid and advance its own sustainability efforts.
The 7 MW/34 MWh project will use Tesla batteries at 11 of the water district’s largest and most energy-intensive facilities – including three water treatment and recycling plants, a deep aquifer treatment system, a groundwater de-salter facility and six high-energy pumping stations.
Linked together virtually, the network will provide water district facility managers with real-time visibility and operational flexibility in responding to utility requests for demand reduction.
The partners say the project is at the forefront of addressing one of California’s great environmental challenges – the water/energy nexus. Water – its transportation, treatment, disposal, heating and use — accounts for nearly 20 percent of the electricity and 30 percent of non-power plant related natural gas consumed in California, according to the California Energy Commission.
The project will operate under a 10-year power-purchase agreement with Southern California Edison. Advanced Microgrid Solutions will design, finance, install and operate the energy storage systems and manage requests from the utility for load reduction to balance the grid.
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DOE to boost community energy
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is working to boost local energy efforts through a new Better Communities Alliance (BCA), formed with 60 local governments, philanthropies, nonprofit organizations, and private companies.
The alliance springs from recognition that energy use is growing in cities. Cities are expected to consume 87 percent of energy in the U.S. by 2030, according to the DOE.
Alliance members are making commitments to reduce energy waste, expand renewable energy and sustainable transportation, harness new energy-saving technologies, and invest in resilient power systems and community infrastructure.
Part of the Better Buildings Initiative, the alliance will deliver new clean energy resources, technical assistance, and facilitate collaboration between public and private partners.
. The participating cities and counties are:
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Boulder, Colorado
- Broward County, Florida
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
- Chicago, Illinois
- Chula Vista, California
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Dubuque, Iowa
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Huntington Beach, California
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Kauai County, Hawaii
- King County, Washington
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Los Angeles County, California
- Miami-Dade County, Florida
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Newark, New Jersey
- New York, New York
- Orlando, Florida
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Portland, Oregon
- Richmond, Virginia
- Roanoke, Virginia
- Rochester, New York
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- San Francisco, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Sonoma County, California
- West Palm Beach, Florida
- Will County, Illinois
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