Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has been applauded for recognising the importance of energy storage as a key technology for achieving climate, clean energy and economic growth goals.
The governor gave the annual State of the State Address yesterday, outlining her agenda for 2022. It included the unveiling of more than 200 initiatives and programmes around nine main objectives, from healthcare and public safety to housing and climate action.
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Within the area of climate and furthering the clean energy economy, Governor Hochul set out actions to be taken to directly advance energy storage technologies in New York: creating a new battery research and manufacturing centre and doubling the state’s energy storage deployment target from 3GW by 2030 to 6GW by that year.
Also included were the goals of establishing New York as a hub for green hydrogen and investing US$1 billion to support the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and the associated and required infrastructure.
Trade association and technological development group New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST) commended Hochul.
“NY-BEST applauds Governor Hochul for her visionary leadership in establishing an ambitious agenda that embraces the role of energy storage as an essential technology to achieve the State’s nation-leading climate and clean energy goals and to grow our economy,” NY-BEST executive director William Acker said.
“We look forward to working with the Governor, the Legislature, State agencies, our members, partners and stakeholders to fully realise the Governor’s vision outlined today.”
New York doubling an already-leading target
By 2030, New York is targeting generating 70% of its electricity from renewable sources. The existing 3GW energy storage deployment target is already the US’ largest state-level policy goal. The Commonwealth of Virginia’s target is slightly larger at 3.1GW, but is set for 2035, five years later than New York’s deadline. There are currently nine such targets in place around the US, with Maine becoming the most recent adopter of a target in the middle of last year.
According to the New York State of the State Address book issued yesterday, Governor Hochul will direct the Department of Public Service (DPS) and public benefit corporation New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to update the state’s Energy Storage Roadmap to double the target to “at least” 6GW by 2030.
The revised target will be enabled by necessary market reforms and procurement mechanisms that are cost-effective and “capture the full benefits of energy storage,” the book reads.
The Roadmap also needs to be updated to identify the ways R&D can accelerate energy storage technology innovation, particularly in the area of long-duration energy storage.
Hochul also wants the plans to outline how best to incentivise private market deployment of energy storage.
“As New York generates significantly more renewable energy, and as New Yorkers likewise increase their energy use by adopting electric vehicles and clean heating systems, our state will need to intensify efforts for energy storage,” the State of the State book said.
“Energy storage enables New York’s renewable energy future, providing a pathway to supplant fossil-fuelled generators that disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities, while ensuring a clean, reliable and resilient electric grid.”
NY-BEST said that it had advocated for the increased target, as well as market reforms and the creation of new market mechanisms to support meeting it. The trade group has been actively engaged in New York’s Climate Action Council and Power Generation Advisory Panel and also called for investments in long-duration energy storage and green hydrogen.
Nobel Laureate Whittingham to lead battery innovation centre
The new battery innovation centre will be created at Binghamton University, lead by Professor Stanley Wittingham, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019 as one of the three main inventors of the lithium-ion battery.
The centre’s chief operating officer will be chosen from the battery industry, and NY-BEST will be partnered with the new COO and Prof Wittingham to head up its efforts in progressing the technology development and manufacturing centre, which will be called BATTERY-NY.
As well as helping positing New York as a global leader in the industry, the centre’s creation will help New Yorkers advance careers in what Hochul’s State of the State described as a “leading, high-paying clean-tech industry”.
Fresh support for offshore wind
New investment in and support for renewable energy in the Address largely focused on the development of offshore wind — New York is targeting 9GW of offshore wind deployment by 2035. Among other measures to support the technology’s deployment, the state will invest US$500 million in offshore wind manufacturing and the supply chain.
However, while offshore wind got the most fresh focus, Hochul pointed to recent announcements made during 2021 which will contribute to meeting renewable energy goals, including a pledge to support 10GW of distributed solar PV and the building of two massive renewable energy infrastructure projects, Clean Path NY and Champlain Hudson Power Express.
The latter two projects will contribute to a third of New York City’s electricity demand being met by solar, wind and hydroelectric power. The US$11 billion Clean Path NY project will add 1.8GW of solar PV and 2GW of wind capacity and a 174 mile underground transmission line to take renewable power from Upstate New York to New York City, while Champlain Hudson Power Express will feature more than 300 miles of underground and underwater power lines to take hydropower from Canada to the state.