In January, Con Edison and NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research Development Authority) partnered to announce new incentives for energy storage projects. Under their new Demand Management Program, customers are eligible for up to $2100/kW for battery storage, and $2600/kW for thermal storage. Additional incentives are available for vendors and owner/operators leveraging the GridMarket platform as a project portal. These new incentives reflect an increase of 250% for battery systems, and 333% for thermal systems—an aggressive shift from previous incentive levels, that increases the feasibility and viability of any potential/future project. The rapid program expansion comes largely in response to calls from Governor Cuomo's administration to catalyze a more resilient 'clean energy economy' in New York State.
Energy storage has found success in the energy resiliency marketplace as a demand management technology, particularly in the wake of climate-related grid impacts and Indian Point's questionable future. Attractive returns are also peaking interest in the investment community, many seeing third party finance as the key to unlocking a young market. As an owner/operator, would you say no to an asset that could immediately save you money and provide backup power for no money down, especially if it sat in unutilized space?
To accommodate large-scale projects, bonus incentives were also introduced for properties that achieve significant peak reductions. Projects over 500 kW qualify for a 10% incentive bonus, while properties over 1MW qualify for a 15% bonus. To qualify, the property must be a customer of Con Edison, and projects must be operational by June 1, 2016. Once functional, the system must demonstrate a minimum combined peak demand reduction of 50 kW or greater.
AGRION is committed to facilitating the distribution of demand management technologies in the New York and beyond via Gridmarket.com, an energy storage platform that helps consumers and technology vendors tame a complex landscape of technologies, policies, and methodologies that too often prevent market penetration in the infrastructure space. Users can explore current, potential, and completed properties via the project map, as well as upload and showcase their own energy storage solutions, in conjunction with approved storage vendors.
More information about incentives offered through Con Edison's Demand Management Program can be at http://www.coned.com/energyefficiency/demand_management_incentives.asp. Please visit GridMarket to learn about zero down financing for energy storage. Special thanks to Tom Conboy of AGRION for his help with this article.
Nicholas Davis is the managing director for AGRION Americas, New York, N.Y. Tags: