Developer Key Capture Energy has inaugurated a 20MW/45.6MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), its largest one in New York to-date.
The KCE NY 6 project, just south of downtown Buffalo, is ‘officially coming online’, the developer announced this week (6 June). The c.2.3 hour duration project uses a BESS from inverter and BESS manufacturer Sungrow while Key Capture Energy enlisted Black and Macdonald for construction and engineering on the project.
“We are excited to share that KCE NY 6 is officially coming online, which is a major step towards New York’s ambitious goal of achieving 70% renewable energy by 2030,” said Taylor Quarles, vice-president, Development for KCE.
The project received US$5 million from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Bulk Market Acceleration Bridge Incentive Program, back in November 2020, starting construction a year later.
It is the developer’s third project to come online in New York state after its 20MW KCE NY 1 and 3MW KCE NY 3 projects. KCE NY6 connects to the grid operator by National Grid, an overseas arm of the UK’s grid operator of the same name.
NYSERDA president and CEO Doreen M. Harris: “KCE NY 6 is part of a growing portfolio of bulk energy storage projects that will help make renewables like wind and solar available when and where they are needed most, reduce the use of obsolete peaker plants, and ultimately lower statewide electric system costs.”
However, the Bulk Market programme did not fulfil its full potential with only a few other developers winning the incentives. A new incentive programme has been brought in to procure the large-scale storage the State needs to hit a 6GW by 2030 deployment target.
Key Capture CEO Jeff Bishop discussed the state’s road to meeting its energy storage deployment targets in an interview with Energy-Storage.news published in April.
