Citing the "critical role" energy storage plays in promoting a clean energy economy, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation directing state regulators to establish an energy storage program and to set a 2030 deployment target. "Not only will energy storage technologies relieve pressure on existing transmission and grid infrastructure, but they will enhance the development and uptake of renewable energy and create new 'green' jobs,'" the governor said in a Nov. 29 memorandum approving Assembly Bill 6571.
The law requires a proceeding at the New York Public Service Commission to determine the target, annual expenditures and a program design that considers cost savings from avoided or deferred infrastructure investments, peak load reduction and systems connected to both customer and utility sides of the meter. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA, and the Long Island Power Authority will administer the program.
Energy storage advocates applauded the bill. "This legislation ensures that action will be taken in 2018 to help accelerate deployment of energy storage resources on the state's electric grid and help achieve the state's clean energy goals," William Acker, executive director of the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium, or NY-BEST, said in a press release.
The governor, however, cautioned that some provisions of the new law "are potentially inconsistent with the state's Reforming the Energy Vision strategy," Cuomo's overarching energy strategy, and create "fiscal burdens" that should be addressed in annual budget negotiations. Cuomo did not specify the provisions of concern, but said he has secured agreement with the state legislature to address the issues in the upcoming session.
"NY-BEST is confident the amendments discussed in the governor's approval memorandum will continue to ensure a path forward for the advancement of energy storage in New York State," Acker said. The group in September recommended that the state establish a storage procurement target in addition to a "fair and effective tariff" for distributed storage and called for the "timely completion" of an energy storage roadmap under development at NYSERDA and a technical study by the New York ISO. The group also called for New York City to install roughly 450 MW of energy storage by 2021 to help avoid a "capacity crisis" due to the projected retirement of aging fossil fuel-fired peak power plants.
