Dive Brief:
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New York state has awarded $16.6 million to five long-duration energy storage projects intended to demonstrate emerging energy storage concepts, according to a Sept. 8 announcement from Gov. Kathy Hochul, D.
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The five projects represent a variety of long-duration storage technologies, including battery storage, pumped hydroelectric storage, and hydrogen.
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An additional $17 million in competitive funding is also available for demonstration projects with an energy storage duration of 10-100 hours, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
Dive Insight:
New York state is looking to fill what energy storage advocates say is one of the biggest remaining holes in its renewable energy strategy with a new round of funding for energy storage demonstration projects.
The largest portion of the just-announced funding — $12.5 million — will go to Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station “to demonstrate nuclear-hydrogen fueled peak power generation paired with a long duration hydrogen energy storage unit.”
Power to Hydrogen and ROCCERA will get $100,000 each to demonstrate a reversible hydrogen fuel cell system and solid oxide electrolyzer for clean hydrogen production, respectively. Borrego Solar Systems will get $2.7 million to construct a stand-alone storage system using zinc hybrid cathode batteries, while RCAM Technologies will receive $1.2 million to build a 3D printed concrete pumped storage hydroelectric system.
NYSERDA is accepting additional applications for long-duration energy storage demonstration projects through Oct. 17.
State funding for long-duration demonstration projects is a critical next step in the state’s clean energy ambitions, according to William Acker, executive director of the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium. While there are a number of long-duration technologies currently in development, Acker said, most of those technologies have yet to reach a needed level of maturity and scale.
“The clean energy roadmap in New York has recognized that we need quite a bit of long-duration energy storage to meet our clean energy goals...and that’s kind of a missing portion of how do we reach our goals right now,” Acker said. “So we need to develop additional technologies in that area.”
The five projects selected by the state so far are a good representation of the diverse long-duration storage technologies currently in development, Acker said. But even more important, he said, was the signal from the governor that financial support for long-duration projects would continue.
“Frequently those early projects are not able to be ratepayer funded,” he said, “so there need to be other funding sources. That’s an important point that New York is recognizing and bringing forward to support these technologies.”
