The projects, located in Staten Island and Brooklyn, will produce approximately 12 megawatts (MW) and 46 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy capacity as part of New York State’s Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) program.
The projects are under construction and expected to complete commissioning in early 2023, making SRE one of the largest operators of energy storage under the VDER program in New York City. Since 2019, SRE has worked in close coordination with local governments and safety experts to shape legislation to support battery storage development in the city.
The agreement builds on a three-year partnership between SRE and Qcells. Qcells will supply energy storage hardware and energy management software for the projects, including its Geli energy management system (EMS) to optimise performance of the assets under the VDER program guidelines. Geli’s newest software capabilities will allow users to accurately predict the system-wide NYISO peak and export energy to the grid via standalone energy storage systems to support grid flexibility and energy stability in New York. With these projects, the Qcells Geli EMS will be managing one of the largest fleets of dispatchable assets under the VDER program, and will be the first to intelligently address peak hour dispatch for New York in the program’s history.
“The opportunity for energy storage in New York is significant - not only will standalone storage support grid resilience as the state continues to transition to renewable energy, but it will also help reduce reliance on fossil fuel peaker plants and help to regulate grid frequency” said Brian Dunn, Chief Operating Officer at SRE. “We are thrilled to partner with Qcells on the first of many energy storage projects from our team in New York City, and happy to lead the way for other clean energy advocates looking to expand storage in the state.”
Ben Brown, SVP of Qcells’ Distributed Energy division, added that Qcells is committed to supporting SRE’s path to becoming an energy storage leader in New York City, assisted by the company’s Geli platform designed to maximise project returns with multiple value-stacked applications, coupled with Qcells bankable energy storage systems.
Like community solar, community storage projects provide additional pathways to renewable energy adoption for residents and businesses, beyond onsite facilities.
The portfolio solidifies SRE’s position as the largest community solar and storage provider in the nation. Since its founding, SRE has grown its portfolio of operational and in-development projects to more than 700 MW of clean energy projects and more than 100 MWh of standalone storage. The company began developing energy storage assets in 2019.
For additional information:
