NYSERDA Unveils Energy Storage Incentive Plan as State Strives for 3 Gigawatts by 2030

The New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) has published its Energy Storage Market Acceleration Incentives Implementation Plan on March 11. It describes how the state will allocate $310 million in funding to boost adoption of the technology and help achieve approximately a third of New York’s ambitious goal of 3 gigawatts by 2030. This $310 million market acceleration bridge incentive comes in addition to $40 million announced in November for storage-paired solar projects.

The plan is split into two main initiatives, retail and bulk storage market acceleration incentives.

The retail section will focus on projects up to five megawatts of alternating current (AC) power, which are monetized under an Investor Owned Utility (IOU) and are either behind a customer’s electric meter or directly connected to the distribution system. With this section, the authority wants to focus on systems that will likely be used to shift electric demand to off-peak periods and store solar photovoltaic generation for more valuable times. According to the agency, the incentives will be offered on a first come, first served basis and will be calculated based on the usable installed energy storage capacity in kilowatt-hours measured in AC power.

The bulk incentive is set to provide financial support for new energy storage systems that are over 5 megawatts of AC power and that will primarily provide wholesale market energy, ancillary or capacity services. These assets may be connected at the transmission, sub-transmission or distribution level and can provide both distribution and wholesale services. Eligible systems include chemical, thermal and mechanical assets which are installed within each IOU’s distribution and bulk system.