Dive Brief:
- Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D, on Thursday announced that New York will allocate $280 million for energy storage projects across the state to accelerate industry growth and drive deployment.
- The funding is part of a $400 million investment to achieve the state’s goal of deploying 3 GW of energy storage by 2030, according to a statement from the governor.
- New York expects the deployment of 3 GW of energy storage would deliver $4 billion in gross benefits and avoid 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Dive Insight:
New York is pushing ahead with its renewable energy goals, which call for 100% clean energy by 2040. The new energy storage funding, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) Market Acceleration Bridge Incentive Program, could drive as much as 1 GW of energy storage, or two-thirds of the state's 1.5 GW target set for 2025, according to Cuomo's statement.
"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,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement.
The NYSERDA funding will be available in two categories: $150 million for bulk storage projects over 5 MW that primarily provide wholesale market energy and distribution services; and $130 million for customer-sited retail storage projects below 5 MW that can be installed alone or paired with onsite generation.
Bulk incentive programs are offered in all state investor-owned utility service areas besides that of Consolidated Edison, which is running its own bulk incentive program.
Along with the $280 million in energy storage incentives, NYSERDA said it will allocate another $70 million for "opportunities that have the greatest potential to support a self-sustaining storage market." A further $53 million will be available later this year in regional greenhouse gas initiative funds for retail and bulk storage projects on Long Island.
Interested parties must submit an application online to receive the funding, Sue Gold, senior communications manager at NYSERDA, said in an email to Utility Dive.
"Once the application is approved, NYSERDA will send an award letter and issue a contract. Once the contract is fully executed, the project can be built. Funds are provided after the project is completed," she said.
In addition to the new incentives, the New York Power Authority issued a request for information for grid-scale energy storage development opportunities within the state.
