New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has decided it is time batteries replace peaker plants running on gas in his city. Greentech Media sees this as explicit recognition of the harmful greenhouse emissions and pollutants these plants historically poured out. Moreover, most of the decades-old plants are within poor/minority neighborhoods according to the reporter.
Money Pours In As Batteries Replace Peaker Plants
Governor Cuomo has his ducks in a row, financially speaking. NYSERDA’s Green Bank – the state’s Energy Research and Development Agency – will invest $200 million. While its Clean Energy Fund will top this up with a further $60 million.
This money will flow as batteries replace peaker plants through to 2025. Andrew Cuomo hopes to see 50% renewable energy by 2030. The first 1,500 megawatts will roll out as batteries replace peaker plants over the next eight years. These astonishing numbers underpin the NYSERDA CEO’s assertion that “New York intends to be a leading state for energy storage deployment.”
More Details of the City State’s Ambitious Plans
Alicia Barton went on to tell a media briefing that, “This helps us put a stake in the ground to say New York is a market where you should be spending time.” Five years ago, the technology to do this hardly existed. Moreover, some investment fund managers might still have preferred the idea of polluting peaking gas plants.
We applaud New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his vision for the future. He is hoping that the new investments will also create as many as 30,000 new jobs. Executive director of the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium William Acker thinks the 1,500 megawatts are just scratching the surface.
“The size of the market for energy storage in New York is probably a lot larger than that,” he says. “These targets are not setting a number that indicates the market; it’s catalyzing the industry and stakeholders to go and make it happen.” Hence, having batteries replace peaker plants could be just the beginning.
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Preview Image: Vinegar Hill Power Plant, Brooklyn Navy Yard
