There was a great deal of debate running up to the release of New York’s energy storage target on the PSC decision. When New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced New York’s energy storage Roadmap this summer he called for a 1,500 MW by 2025 target, but several analysts said the target could be twice as high.
The PSC ended up going with the higher number.
By comparison, California has a 1,300 MW by 2020 target. Massachusetts regulators are considering a policy that would raise the state’s existing 200 MWh storage target to 2,000 MW by 2025. And New Jersey recently adopted a 2,000 MW by 2030 energy storage target.
The PSC’s decision was based on analysis done by Acelerex. When the consulting firm modeled an aggressive timeline for retiring all pre-1990 combustion turbine peaking units in New York City and Long Island by 2025, resulting in 3,600 MW of energy storage being deployed in the state by 2030.
But in its decision, the PSC said while energy storage can play a “critical role” in providing peaking services, “it is not practical to suggest that storage may be the only solution in reducing the need for peaking generating units.” Consequently, the PSC set its target below the 3,600 MW mark.
The commission said it is “timely and necessary” to adopt an energy storage goal of 1,500 MW by 2025 and an “aspirational deployment goal” of 3,000 MW by 2030.
And, to speed deployment, the commission ordered the state’s six investor owned utilities (IOUs) to directly procure energy storage resources on the state’s bulk power system via competitive solicitation and have the facilities in service by Dec. 31, 2022.
The order calls for Consolidated Edison to procure 300 MW of energy storage and the other IOUs to procure at least 10 MW each.
Con Ed was singled out to carry the biggest portion of the procurements because analysis showed that the biggest opportunities were in the utility’s territory, according to an energy storage expert who is not authorized to make public statements.
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