The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved two initiatives to dramatically increase New York’s energy efficiency and energy storage targets.
The new energy efficiency target for investor-owned utilities will more than double utility energy efficiency progress by 2025, reducing the state’s energy consumption by the equivalent of fueling and powering 1.8 million homes. The energy storage initiative sets New York on a trajectory to achieve 1.5 GW of storage by 2025, enough electricity to power 1.2 million homes, and up to 3 GW by 2030.
These targets were first announced as part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s 2018 State of the State clean energy agenda.
“As the federal government continues to ignore the real and imminent dangers of climate change, New York is aggressively pursuing clean energy alternatives to protect our environment and conserve resources,” Cuomo says. “These unprecedented energy efficiency and energy storage targets will set a standard for the rest of the nation to follow while supporting and creating jobs in these cutting-edge renewable industries.”
In June, Cuomo announced the state’s plan to jump-start the development of energy storage in New York, calling for the deployment of 1.5 GW by 2025.
To achieve the governor’s goal, the PSC has now adopted a comprehensive strategy to address barriers that have been impeding energy storage technologies from competing in the energy marketplace. These actions are intended to accelerate the market learning curve, drive down costs, and speed the deployment of the highest-value energy storage projects for maximum benefit to New Yorkers and the electric grid.
In addition to the 2025 goal, the PSC is adopting a secondary energy storage deployment goal of 3 GW by 2030, which was called for pursuant to legislation signed into law last year by Cuomo.
To further stimulate energy storage deployment across the state and spur private-sector investment, earlier this week, New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced it would invest $250 million over the next five years to accelerate the flexibility of the electric grid to give New Yorkers greater access to renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar.
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