New York has become the latest US state to decide to support energy storage through its legislature and will be setting targets for deployment of the technologies in the coming weeks.
State governor Andrew Cuomo, credited by some in the industry for helping initiate and persevering with the New York Reforming the Energy Vision (NY REV) programme to modernise and add flexibility to the grid, has just approved Assembly Bill A6571 – Establishing the energy storage deployment programme.
First tabled by multiple sponsors in March this year, the bill was delivered to state Assembly and passed through Senate in June. It instructs the regulator, New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC), to develop a programme supporting the deployment of energy storage across the state. As part of that, a procurement target will be established, which is to be reached by 2030. There has been no indication yet of what that target might be. Cuomo signed off on the bill on 29 November.
The bill calls for “commercially available technology” which is cost-effective and can assist in lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reducing peak demand, reducing the need for expensive infrastructure upgrades and otherwise improving the reliability of the electrical network, all cornerstones of the NY REV programme. Technologies could include mechanical, chemical or thermal energy storage.
California has in place the mandate AB 2514, which requires the three investor-owned utilities in the state to deploy 1.325GW of energy storage by 2024 in four biennial solicitations, another 500MW was added to that target in May this year. Meanwhile, Massachusetts has set a 200MWh “aspirational” i.e. non-binding target for electric distribution companies by the beginning of the year 2020. More recently in New Mexico, the state Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC) in August unanimously voted to amend its rules governing utilities’ integrated resource planning (IRP) to allow power companies to include energy storage in those IRPs.
As with June’s announcement that the bill was passing through the legislative process, key trade groups NY BEST and the US’ national Energy Storage Association have warmly welcomed Cuomo’s approval of it.
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