The project is expected to be completed in early 2021 and supports Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s energy storage deployment target of 3,000 MW by 2030.
Alicia Barton, President and CEO, NYSERDA said, “Advancing energy storage installations across the state enables more renewables to be integrated into our electric grid, while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and making local communities healthier.”
Located at the Lincoln Park Grid Support Center, this project is an example of how community outreach and New York’s ambitious climate and clean energy policies are already working to steer the state away from reliance on dirtier fossil fuels.
When the project was originally proposed in 2018, the facility design included a natural gas-powered peaking plant, which raised concerns in the community. As a result, GlidePath changed direction by announcing plans to install a battery at the site. To support the new plan, GlidePath received approval for $8.8 million from NYSERDA’s Market Acceleration Bridge Incentive Program, which provides incentives for bulk and retail storage projects.
Now that the contract is executed, the project moves into the design and study phase, which could take up to one year, and then it will be built. Once it is operating, the four-hour battery system will help relieve grid constraints by storing cleaner generation and releasing it during peak demand hours.
NYSERDA’s Market Acceleration Bridge Incentive Program is part of a $405 million energy storage investment to help accelerate industry growth and drive down energy storage deployment costs to build a sustainable and affordable market.
It is complemented by a $250 million commitment that the New York Power Authority (NYPA) made last December to accelerate the flexibility of the electric grid by collaborating on grid-scale energy storage projects and addressing market and financing barriers.
This announcement is the state’s latest milestone in its efforts to expand the energy storage sector since Cuomo announced the release of the New York Energy Storage Roadmap in June 2018. In September, NYSERDA announced the completion of the state’s largest battery installation, just north of Albany. The 20 MW system by Key Capture Energy will help balance electric load and generation by storing and discharging power based upon the changing needs of the grid.
Earlier this summer, Cuomo signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which codified the state’s 3,000 MW energy storage target, the most ambitious in the country. Achieving this target is expected to deliver more than $3 billion in benefits to New Yorkers and avoid two million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, as well as grow the sector.
According to NYSERDA’s 2018 Clean Energy Industry Report which was issued in September, firms in the grid modernization and energy storage technology grew five times faster than national employment in this sector and continues to grow.
