The board of trustees for New York Power Authority (NYPA) last week gave the greenlight for the public power organisation to develop an additional 1.2GW of storage as part of its renewed Strategic Plan for New Renewable Energy Generation.
First approved by its board of trustees in January 2025, the iterative document is continuously being updated by NYPA, which adds and removes projects based on technical and financial feasibility.
“Despite strong headwinds threatening the viability of renewables projects throughout the nation, NYPA continues to leverage its expertise and reputational strength to develop projects that will bolster the energy diversity of New York’s electric grid,” said NYPA President and CEO Justin Driscoll.
More storage compared to inaugural plan
With the NYPA’s inaugural renewables plan proposing a cumulative 3GW of renewable capacity, some members of the industry criticised the public utility for its lack of ambition. This was certainly the case when it came to the inclusion of energy storage, with the inaugural plan only proposing a single 200MW utility-scale storage project alongside 10 smaller distribution-connected ones.
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As reported by sister site PV-tech, the majority of this cumulative capacity came from solar technology.
However, in July this year, the NYPA published a draft update for its plan that massively upped its energy storage ambitions by proposing an additional 156 projects representing a cumulative storage capacity exceeding 3.8GW. Alongside the storage additions, NYPA proposed another 20 new renewable generation projects, taking the total cumulative capacity to almost 7GW.
Driscoll said that he was “proud” of the draft plan, which was produced during the height of uncertainties surrounding investment tax credits and increasing import tariffs.
7GW down to 5.5GW, 500MW development with Hydrostor
Despite energy storage developments remaining mostly intact, the final plan approved last week comprises a reduced approximate 5.5GW of cumulative capacity, compared to the 7GW of the draft plan.
NYPA said the reduction in cumulative capacity was down to the elimination of investment tax credits for solar and wind projects, along with the results of interconnection studies. Coupled with tax credits for energy storage remaining until 2033, these changes aren’t too surprising.
The approved plan reduces the number of energy storage projects from 156 to 149, comprising 146 distribution-connected projects across three separate portfolios, as well as three individual utility-scale projects.
Most notable among the new additions is a 500MW project from advanced-compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) company Hydrostor, for which there is potential for NYPA to co-develop it in partnership with Hydrostor. It would connect to the New York System Operator (NYISO’s) E load zone.
The project, known as Antelope Energy Storage, is expected to be assessed by the system operator as part of its 2026 cluster study, with Hydrostor targeting commercial operations during the final quarter of 2030.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Hydrostor has developed its own proprietary A-CAES technology.
As recently reported by Energy-Storage.news, an offtake agreement relating to one of Hydrostor’s California developments, Willow Rock, was recently amended for the third time due to ‘permitting and interconnection challenges’. However, later in the same day that this article was published (19 December), Hydrostor announced that the California Energy Commission (CEC) had approved the Willow Rock project.
Although the city of Croghan, which expects to host the Antelope project, has recently amended its zoning laws to regulate compressed air energy storage technology, it has yet to receive any development applications.
Details of the other two utility-scale storage projects within NYPA’s revised plan are as follows:
| Project Name | Co-developer | Location | Capacity (MWac) | Estimated completion date |
| H1 | Oriden | Deerpark, Orange County | 10 | Q4 2027 |
| K4 | YSG Solar | Brookhaven, Suffolk County | 4 | Q3 2026 |
Both projects were included in the inaugural plan, with NYPA stating that no major updates have occurred since then.
Portfolio developments
In terms of distribution-connected storage, the updated plan includes three new portfolios which NYPA is separately co-developing with two developers: New Leaf Energy and Orenda, who are responsible for one and two portfolios, respectively.
Broad details of the portfolios, which are all being developed under NYPA’s Renewable Energy Access and Community Help (REACH) program, can be found below:
| Project Names | Co-developer | Number of projects | Cumulative Capacity (MWac) | Capacity Range (MWac) | Online date range |
| R6.1 – R6.4, R6.11, R6.12 | New Leaf Energy | 6 | 28 | 3 – 5 | Q2 2027 – Q2 2029 |
| S1.1 – S1.75 | Orenda | 75 | 353.94 | 2.88 – 4.88 | Q3 2027 – Q1 2030 |
| S2.1 – S2.65 | Orenda | 65 | 318.24 | 4.896 | Q1 2028 – Q2 2030 |
Further details of the portfolios can be accessed in the appendix of NYPA’s revised renewables plan. Interestingly, 145 of the 149 energy storage projects are slated for development in New York City and Westchester County.
Within its renewed plan, NYPA noted that it was prioritising projects that can be developed expeditiously, and that “strong federal headwinds” presented “significant challenges” for the future buildout of renewable generation.
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This article was amended after publication to update the reference to Hydrostor’s Willow Rock project and to note that the planned Hydrostor project in New York is in load zone E, not K as previously stated, with Hydrostor as its sole developer.
