Enel X and Related Companies, a global real estate firm, today announced the launch of the largest battery storage system in New York City. The 4.8 MW/16.4 MWh in-front-of-the-meter battery system is located at Related’s Gateway Center in East New York, Brooklyn community and will support the local grid of New York energy company, Con Edison, in periods of high peak demand, helping to keep service reliable.
Enel X installed, owns and operates the system, which was in part paid for by Con Edison through its Brooklyn Queens Demand Management Program. The program provides support for the deployment of non-wire solutions to improve reliability in congested/constrained areas. Enel X receives payments when the battery system delivers energy to the grid.
The in-front-of-the-meter project is installed on land owned by Related Companies and Enel is leasing the land from the real estate firm.
The system interacts directly with Con Edison’s local grid discharging when there is an increased demand on the grid. Enel said the battery system provides Con Edison with the following benefits:
- Improved resiliency and reliability because batteries help match generation with demand
- Mitigating spikes in electricity costs with the ability to use energy produced at non-peak hours during peak hours
- Because of their size, batteries can be discharged closer to where the demand is greatest decreasing the need for new transmission lines
- Allow the utility to defer the cost of upgrades to existing infrastructure and building new plants
- A more sustainable solution that will help increase renewable deployment – ability to store and discharge when and where you need the power.
“New York is a complex, densely-populated market in continuous growth, which requires innovative technologies to address evolving energy challenges. Storage systems, like this one, are among the critical tools that can help take on these challenges, by increasing energy systems’ flexibility and stability,” said Francesco Venturini, Head of Enel X. “
The lithium-ion battery system is designed to meet the stringent safety requirements of the New York City Fire Department, and is a best-in-class containerised solution for battery storage systems, said Enel X. Precision Renewables, an affiliate of Related Companies, oversaw the installation of the facility with Enel X.
In 2018, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a nation-leading goal of implementing 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030, to create a cleaner, more diverse and more resilient energy grid. In New York, Enel X currently has 16 customer-sited storage projects including one solar-plus-storage project providing multiple services that enable demand management, drive cost savings for consumers and support the grid.
Existing Enel X projects in New York City include the solar-plus-storage microgrid at Marcus Garvey Apartments in Brooklyn, as well as storage and demand response for a number of properties owned by luxury real estate group Glenwood Management.
