Photo Courtesy of the Office of the Governor
Lt. Gov. Hochul unveiled the roadmap on Thursday at Queens College.
By Forum Staff
The Cuomo administration on Thursday unveiled New York’s Energy Storage Roadmap to guide the state toward its energy storage targetof 1,500 megawatts by 2025—the equivalent electricity demand of one-fifth of all NY homes.
“There is no doubt that we must act with urgency to combat the threat posed by climate change,” Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said at Queens College on Thursday. “We are already seeing the impact on our environment with New Yorkers continuing to be imperiled by rising temperatures and incidents of extreme weather. Like so many other issues, when the federal government ignores the reality, New York steps up to lead the way and put forward real solutions. Our state’s energy vision is leading us toward the cleanest, most advanced, and efficient energy system in the nation. The Energy Storage Roadmap represents the next crucial step forward to tackle climate change and further develop our clean energy economy.”
According to the administration, the roadmap identifies short-term recommendations for how energy storage can deliver value to New York electricity consumers and cost-effectively address the needs and demands of the power grid. It also provides a set of specific recommended actions to accelerate the deployment of energy storage projects in New York and position the state as a leading national market for advanced energy storage projects.
The roadmap was developed by the Department of Public Service and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority with input from stakeholders.
“With this roadmap, Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo has brought New York once again to the forefront of the nation in developing new energy solutions that will fuel our efforts to build a cleaner energy system for future generations,” NYSERDA President and CEO Alicia Barton said. “The roadmap will serve as a guide to jumpstarting the market for advanced energy storage projects in New York on our path to achieving 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 and turn the Empire State into a global hub for the burgeoning energy storage industry.”
The road to the State’s 2025 goal is paved with: $2 billion in gross lifetime benefits to NY residents, including electric distribution system savings and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, as well as added resiliency to the electric grid by reducing the impact of outages caused by severe weather; and the potential to create up to 30,000 new, good-paying jobs in the energy storage industry.
Additionally, the New York Power Authority is currently working on several energy storage projects that demonstrate the value of the technology, which will continue to increase as the roadmap is implemented. This work includes a partnership with the State University of New York on multiple projects that would allow the university system to utilize stored solar power during emergencies and times of peak energy demand.
Cuomo called the roadmap “the next step to not only grow our clean energy economy and create jobs, but to improve the resiliency of the grid to keep our power running in the face of extreme weather and other emergency situations.”
