Dive Brief:
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week announced up to $15 million in funding available for grid modernization projects, while the New York Power Authority signaled upgrades of its own.
- The NYPA's.Board of Trustees approved a $9.3 million sensor deployment program aimed at transforming the state's grid. It is the first phase of a multi-stage program that will cost $55 million.
- The projects and calls for proposals aim to support the state's ambitious climate goals and its Reforming the Energy Vision grid modernization strategy. New York is targeting 50% renewable energy by 2030.
Dive Insight:
These announcements are part of Gov. Cuomo's long-term strategy to modernize the grid in order to combat climate change.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will select projects through a two-step competitive process. Concept papers are due July 18; they will be evaluated and NYSERDA will narrow the field. Afterwards, a "select group" will be picked to submit full proposals.
The Authority is looking for proposals aimed at projects that support cybersecurity and data analytics or advanced planning, operations, and forecasting tools. Concept papers should also demonstrate how their proposals will advance the state's goal to have 50% of its electricity come from renewable resources by 2030.
Also this week, NYPA signed off on the first phase of its own grid modernization initiative. The sensor deployment program will ultimately allow new technologies to perform on-line monitoring of power plants, and for substations and power lines "to increase efficiency and productivity," according to the announcement.
NYPA said the installation work will begin this spring and is estimated to take approximately four to five years.
The sensors are supposed to help proactively predict potential problems and reduce unplanned downtime, lower maintenance costs, and minimize potential operational risks. The plan calls for NYPA to install sensors on equipment throughout its statewide network of 16 power plants and 1,400 miles of transmission lines and including transformers, reactors, turbines, generators, breakers, battery banks, cables, and capacitors.
The goal is to monitor temperature, power loads, vibrations, pressure, emissions, and moisture. NYPA said it already has sensors feeding approximately 26,000 points of data but that will grow to 75,000 by the end of the program.
Last year, NYPA signed a deal with GE to become “the world’s first fully digital utility," and has now launched a new Integrated Smart Operations Center (ISOC), which Utility Dive profiled earlier this year. ISOC is where the data will be analyzed.
