The tri-state area's energy landscape is changing rapidly. To navigate the growing challenges properties face in the era of stressed grids and weather events like Superstorm Sandy, AGRION, Con Edison, New York State, New York City, and a team of industry stakeholders came together to launch GridMarket.com. GridMarket is an online platform that aims to make the entire process of implementing an energy storage project as easy as possible.
Why storage? Demand for power continues to rise and climate change brings about increasingly severe weather events like storm surges and droughts. This puts the grid under tremendous stress. Meanwhile, the prospect of nuclear power plant Indian Point shutting down by 2016 poses a looming shortfall in base load power generation for New York State. The northeast needs more power, cleaner energy, and a more resilient grid, and that means having buildings capable of reducing peak demand charges and keeping elevators, lights, and life support systems on if the system takes a hit - and in a way that doesn't break the bank.
Consumers today spend 43% more than in 2002 just to maintain an infrastructure where the average power plant is 30 years old (White House report). For building owners and operators willing to plan for the future, there are unprecedented incentive dollars in the market through utility, municipal, state, and federal programs. Those who wait may run into cumbersome rate hikes, angry tenants, and frequent blackouts as increasing strains on the grid lead to costly outages and steep demand charges.
The financial barriers, interconnection issues, and permitting hurdles that have impeded widespread energy storage adoption to date are quickly disappearing. In New York, aging grid infrastructure and the looming closure of Indian Point have spurred Con Ed and NYSERDA to tackle interconnection challenges with ever-greater urgency. Mounting demand at the state and local level has inspired a more proactive department of buildings as battery technologies seek approval for behind-the-meter applications.
In a nutshell, you now have the opportunity to put batteries in your building with ROIs that are not only financially feasible, but very attractive. The value of energy storage in NYC is incredibly high - $1,200/kw in incentives, up to 65% of project costs - and GridMarket.com is New York's free resource for property managers looking to make their facilities less expensive, greener, safer, and more resilient.
Nicholas Davis is the managing director of AGRION Americas, New York, N.Y.
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