From pv magazine USA
Continuing down the trail of bold energy initiatives, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced that an initiative to dramatically increase the state’s energy storage targets has been approved by the New York State Public Service Commission.
With the initiative’s passing, the state is now on a trajectory to deploy 1.5 GW of energy storage by 2025, before doubling and reaching up to 3 GW by 2030. Those numbers represent enough energy storage to power 1.2 million homes by 2025 and 2.4 million homes by 2030. While those targets are ambitious to say the least, they should come as no surprise, as Gov. Cuomo has been calling for that 3 GW storage figure since last year.
The New York State Public Service Commission, in response to the initiative’s passing, has adopted a strategy to address the issues that have impeded the deployment of energy storage within the state. The commission hopes that the strategy will establish a critical foundation to support the state’s goal of creating 30,000 jobs in the energy storage industry, accelerate the market learning curve, drive down costs and accelerate deployment of energy storage.
“As the federal government continues to ignore the real and imminent dangers of climate change, New York is aggressively pursuing clean energy alternatives to protect our environment and conserve resources,” said Gov. Cuomo in a release announcing the initiative. “These unprecedented energy efficiency and energy storage targets will set a standard for the rest of the nation to follow, while supporting and creating jobs in these cutting-edge renewable industries.”
On top of the storage target, the initiative also calls for an additional $40 million of funding for pairing storage with PV projects, while directing the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to file a market acceleration bridge incentive implementation plan. Furthermore, the state’s six major utilities are now directed to hold competitive procurements for 350 MW of bulk-sited energy storage systems.
On the same day a sister initiative was passed, calling for investor-owned utilities to more than double utility energy efficiency progress by 2025. This was passed in the hopes that the initiative will reduce the state’s energy consumption by the equivalent of fueling and powering 1.8 million homes. The state estimates that, if current projections hold, this initiative will create another 50,000 new jobs.
Outside of reducing emissions and creating a more robust and diverse energy economy, job creation has been a key talking point for the agenda launched in Gov. Cuomo’s 2018 State of the State.
By Tim Sylvia
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