Energy Storage Facility Will Help Offset Dirtier Resources and Enhance New York City’s Grid Reliability

ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today approved construction of the largest battery storage facility in New York State history. The 316-megawatt Ravenswood energy storage facility, which will hold enough electricity to power over 250,000 households over an eight hour period, will be built on a portion of the Ravenswood Generating Station property in Long Island City, Queens, New York.

“Energy storage is vital to building flexibility into the grid and advancing Governor Cuomo’s ambitious clean energy goals. Projects like Ravenswood will enable us to grow the industry and create jobs while we continue on our path toward meeting the country's largest energy storage target,” said Commission Chair John B. Rhodes. “When complete, this facility will displace energy produced from fossil plants during peak periods, resulting in cleaner air and reduced carbon emissions.”

According to the developer, Ravenswood Development, LLC, the project will store electricity drawn from the grid and generated by other facilities. Stored energy would then be released to the grid in accordance with New York Independent System Operator’s (NYISO) and Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc.’s (Con Edison) dispatch orders.

The energy storage facility, expected to be partially operational by March 2021, will be able to provide peak capacity, energy and ancillary services, offset more carbon-intensive on-peak generation with power stored during the off-peak period, and enhance grid reliability in New York City. The project represents a unique opportunity to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and expand clean energy resource use, consistent with the State’s clean energy goals.

The project would be developed in an area of the Ravenswood Generating Station that currently is occupied in part by peaker units, most of which are currently not in service. During construction, the project would require between 100 and 120 skilled construction workers to support peak construction periods.

The project will include enough lithium-ion batteries to supply up to a maximum of eight hours of storage capacity at its rated output and will be able to charge and discharge up to 316 MW of power.

New York State's Green New Deal

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's Green New Deal is the most ambitious climate change program in the nation and puts the State on a path to being entirely carbon-neutral across all sectors of the economy, including power generation, transportation, buildings, industry and agriculture. The Governor's program also establishes a goal to achieve a zero-carbon emissions electricity sector by 2040, faster than any state in the nation. The recently passed Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act mandates several of the Governor's ambitious Green New Deal clean energy targets: installing six gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025, three gigawatts of energy storage by 2030, and at least nine gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035. The CLCPA also calls for an orderly and just transition to clean energy, creating jobs while spurring a green economy. It builds on New York's unprecedented ramp-up of clean energy including a $2.9 billion investment in 46 large-scale renewable projects across the state, the creation of more than 150,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector and 1,700% growth in the distributed solar sector since 2012. The CLCPA also directs New York State's agencies and authorities to work collaboratively with stakeholders to develop a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 1990 levels by 2050, and to work toward a goal for disadvantage communities to receive 40% of the overall benefits of spending on clean energy and energy efficiency programs, projects or investments.

Reforming the Energy Vision

The CLCPA builds on Governor Cuomo's landmark Reforming the Energy Vision strategy to lead on climate change and grow New York's economy. REV is building a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers by stimulating investment in clean technologies like solar, wind, and energy efficiency. Already, REV has driven growth of nearly 1,700 percent in the statewide solar market, leveraged nearly $3.4 billion in private investments, improved energy affordability for 1.65 million low-income customers, and led to more than 150,000 jobs in manufacturing, engineering, and other clean tech sectors across New York State.

To learn more about REV, visit rev.ny.gov, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.