Agilitas Energy has completed construction of the largest standalone, non-wires solution (NWS) energy storage system (ESS) in Con Edison’s New York City and Westchester County service area. The grid-scale project will help the utility company meet peak loads for customers with 4.8 MW and 23.7 MWh of capacity.
Located in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, the NWS project will allow Con Edison customers to enjoy the dispatchability and resiliency benefits of energy storage. Con Edison selected Agilitas Energy based on the company’s depth of experience and expertise to provide sub-transmission and distribution load relief to the grid as an NWS and support the deferral of the traditional infrastructure project for up to four years.
“New York City is arguably the most complicated and challenging urban area to build an energy storage project with its regulatory hurdles and zoning restrictions, and I’m proud that our team’s diligence, ingenuity and leadership allowed us to become one of the only companies to successfully do so,” said Barrett Bilotta, president, CEO and cofounder of Agilitas Energy. “This energy storage system will serve as a huge win for consumers as our project will enhance reliability, support the transition to a clean energy future and help defer the costs of building more infrastructure.”
Agilitas has a 10-year contract with Con Edison to discharge up to four hours of stored energy during its peak demand period from May 1 through September 30. Con Edison can make daily requests for power with advance notice during a specified timeframe.
The project will enhance the grid’s reliability and resiliency by charging the batteries from the grid at off-peak hours, when there is less demand for power and costs are lower, and then discharging that energy to Con Edison customers when demand for power is higher. The project follows New York State’s mandate to accelerate the proliferation of storage across its grid, in pursuit of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s aggressive targets set last year to help fuel the energy transition.
The ESS was built to remain operable when the grid is under stress due to extreme heat, as customers use their air conditioners to stay comfortable. The project’s enhanced reliability design will ensure that the facility is able to deliver power at critical times.
In addition to fulfilling the May to September contract commitment to Con Edison, the project will sell energy into New York State’s wholesale market. The project is expected to be connected to the grid in 2024.
— Solar Builder magazine
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