New York Governor, Kathy Hochul has announced awards of about $15 million, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), to four demonstration projects for developing long duration energy storage solutions to help harness and provide stored renewable energy to the electric grid.
Additionally, an $8.15 million grant will support innovative long duration energy storage solutions, devices, software, controls, and other complimentary technologies yet to be commercialized. The projects have to improve, develop or field-test hydrogen, electric, chemical, mechanical or thermal-electric storage technologies to address grid congestion, hosting capacity constraints and siting in the city.
The awards support long duration energy storage projects, which are 10 to over 100 hours and multi-days in duration at rated power. The announcement backs goal of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to install 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030 and facilitate the development to 6,000 MW.
"Each energy storage technology breakthrough reduces our reliance on fossil fuels and marks progress toward successfully integrating renewable energy into communities across the state,” Governor Hochul said. “Today’s announcement reflects our continued commitment to innovate and develop technology that will allow us to be energy independent and ensure resources are available when and where needed.”
Ecolectro has received $1.08 million to scale-up laboratory-proven technologies with engineering and validation prototypes to build and test 10 kW electrolysis units, which will be deployed in a pilot demonstration in partnership with Liberty Utilities in Massena, New York.
Form Energy was funded with $12 million to develop, design and construct a commercial-scale, 10 MW/1,000 MWh demonstration of a new form of low-cost, long-duration energy storage to not only support the integration of intermittent renewable resources but also provide continuous, zero-carbon power to the grid when required.
PolyJoule was granted $1.03 million to install a 2 MWh, 167 kW PolyJoule Long Duration Modular BESS in partnership with Eastern Generation at its Astoria Generating Station in Queens, New York to prove the safety, technical, operational and economic merits of the PolyJoule Conductive Polymer BESS in a densely populated urban setting.
Lastly, Urban Electric Power received $703,965 to install a 100 kW/1 MWh BESS using its patented rechargeable zinc alkaline battery technology in Pearl River, New York for long duration energy storage applications (i.e., 10 to 24 hour) at commercial and industrial facilities.
The governor also created a new Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group to independently examine energy storage facility fires and safety standards. The Group will leverage nationally renowned experts and national laboratories in energy storage root cause and emergency response analysis to identify common causes, air monitoring results or other community impacts and other factors involved with energy storage fires.
