(Photo: Breaking ground on a new battery storage facility in Pomona, New York. Credit: Key Capture Energy)Energy storage deployments in New York have grown faster than anticipated since the state began a major push in 2018, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in 2018 that the state had set an energy storage target of 1.5 gigawatts by 2025. The goal is to reach 3.0 gigawatts by 2030. Bridge incentives worth $350 million were authorized to help accelerate New York’s energy storage market.
Since then, NYSERDA has awarded incentive funds to nine projects that total 360 megawatts and nearly 1,400 megawatt-hours, Greentech Media reported.
“Across the board, it’s grown faster than we expected it would when we scoped out the incentive and roadmap,” Jason Doling, who oversees NYSERDA’s energy storage program, told the outlet. Even though the state project incentives decrease over time, that hasn’t slowed development because project costs have been declining, he noted.
Last September saw the completion of the state’s largest ever lithium-ion battery installation — Key Capture Energy’s 20-megawatt project in Saratoga County. Besides being the largest, it was the first under NYSERDA’s energy storage incentive program.
The public benefit corporation says that New York’s energy storage industry could provide an estimated $3 billion in gross benefits by 2030, including reducing carbon dioxide emissions and contributing to the state’s goal of reaching 50% electricity from renewable sources.
“There is a growing appetite for storage and storage paired with intermittent to meet peak demand,” Doling said, according to Greentech Media. “That won’t change; that will only increase.”
