CHATEAUGAY, N.Y. — New York’s first state-owned, utility-scale battery-energy storage project is now operating in Chateaugay in Frankin County. The 20-megawatt (MW) facility connects into the state’s electric grid. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) installed and operates the system. It seeks to help “relieve transmission congestion and pave the way for the utility industry […]
CHATEAUGAY, N.Y. — New York’s first state-owned, utility-scale battery-energy storage project is now operating in Chateaugay in Frankin County.
The 20-megawatt (MW) facility connects into the state’s electric grid. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) installed and operates the system.
It seeks to help “relieve transmission congestion and pave the way for the utility industry and the private sector to better understand how to integrate more clean energy into the power system, especially during times of peak demand,” the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Aug. 25.
Dubbed the Northern New York Energy Storage Project (NNYESP), it will “serve as a model” for future storage systems and “create a more reliable and resilient” power supply in a region heavily powered by renewable energy, Hochul’s office contended.
The project also will help meet the state’s target to install 6,000 MW of energy storage by 2030, it added.
The project is NYPA’s first utility-scale battery project and the first one built by New York State, per Hochul’s office. The facility includes five 53-foot walk-in enclosures, each with more than 19,500 batteries grouped in modules and stacked in racks. Each container pulls in and can disperse 4 MW of power, enough to power roughly 3,000 homes.
The St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project maintains and operates the facility, Hochul’s office said.
The Northern New York Energy Storage Project is located in a region that generates more than 80 percent of its electricity supply from renewable resources, including the NYPA’s St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project. That project produces more than 800 MW of hydropower and more than 650 MW of wind generation, Hochul’s office said.
How NNYESP works
As the state explains it, the energy-storage facility balances power demand by capturing any excess generation, storing it, and discharging it into the grid during times of peak demand, typically on hot summer days or cold winter nights. The energy-storage system will supply the New York wholesale energy and ancillary-service markets and will contribute to more economical and reliable electric power in New York, the state stipulates.
Due to the intermittent nature of wind generation, the excess energy needs to be captured when the wind is blowing so it can be dispersed “when there is no generation,” Hochul’s office said. Having the capability to store renewable energy for delivery during times of high demand will help eliminate the transmission constraints that often prevent the energy from being distributed throughout the statewide grid.
The system also includes inverters, transformers, a control house, and back-up generator, all connected to the Willis substation, located north of the project. The project, which provides 20 MW of power utilizing a lithium-ion battery system, was constructed by O’Connell Electric Company, Inc. of Victor in Ontario County.
NYPA’s engineers were involved with the planning, development, and permitting of the project and the project team met with local fire departments for training on the battery-storage technology used at the facility. NYPA’s engineers have ensured that the Northern New York Energy Storage Project met all fire safety and permitting requirements. NYPA is also testing other types of battery technology, such as advanced lithium-ion and zinc-air technologies, that demonstrate a reduction in the potential for thermal runaway, the most common cause of energy storage fires.
