NY energy storage bill would launch program

The New York legislature has unanimously passed a bill establishing an energy storage deployment program.  The bill, S. 5190, aims to promote the installation of energy storage systems.  The bill now awaits Governor Andrew Cuomo's signature, before it can take effect.

New York is in the midst of major shifts in its energy policy.  Governor Cuomo's "Reforming the Energy Vision" or REV process aims to build a clean, more resilient, and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers.  As part of that process, last year, the Public Service Commission adopted a Clean Energy Standard which requires 50% of New York’s electricity to be generated by renewable sources by 2030, and provides support for 3 nuclear power plants considered at risk of closing.  Meanwhile, the state is also reforming the way energy service companies, or retail electric suppliers, market their services.

In adopting renewable energy procurement mandates as part of the Clean Energy Standard in 2016, the Commission also considered creating specific mandates for energy storage.  As noted in the order adopting the Clean Energy Standard, "Storage is a critically important component of the energy system that is both distributed and increasingly reliant on intermittent resources. Unlike other resources, the load shifting and fast response capabilities of various forms of storage resources allow them to provide simultaneous value as an energy and reliability resource. Storage can also provide value to the distribution based retail and bulk power markets... In short, it is without question that modern markets must sufficiently and accurately value storage as a vehicle to design and optimize network planning and operations."

But in that order, the Commission concluded that "as a reliability support and system optimizing resource, storage is not properly characterized as a standalone renewable energy resource under the CES. That being said, if the various mechanisms that the Commission is pursuing to ensure storage takes it rightful place as a critical resource for the modern grid prove insufficient, this topic will be revisited."

S. 5190 would change New York's position, by requiring that the Commission establish 2030 targets for the installation of qualified energy storage systems.  It defines a qualified system as technology using mechanical, chemical, or thermal processes to absorb, store, and dispatch energy generated from renewable resources or mechanical processes.  The bill's official justification statement cites the increased use of intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, in an effort to combat climate change, and the efficiency of using energy storage systems to solve issues relating to changes in how energy supply and demand align in time.

Three other states -- Massachusetts, California, and Oregon -- have adopted energy storage procurement policies, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is exploring how electric storage resources can be integrated into wholesale and regulated markets.

NY blueprint for offshore wind master plan

A New York state energy office has released its Blueprint for the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, known as NYSERDA, promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources.  It mission is to advance innovative energy solutions in ways that improve New York's economy and environment.

New York recently adopted a Clean Energy Standard, which will require that 50% of New York State’s electricity come from renewable resources by 2030.  NYSERDA has described offshore wind as playing "a critical role in turning this aggressive goal into a reality."  NYSERDA has been tasked with leading the state's development of a master plan for New York offshore wind development.

On September 15, 2016, NYSERDA released its Blueprint for the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan.  The Blueprint presents NYSERDA’s vision of the process, steps, and timeline to develop the master plan.  While the Master Plan's release is scheduled for 2017, NYSERDA noted that releasing an initial Blueprint serves to outline New York State’s comprehensive offshore wind strategy and advance the State’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) strategy to build a cleaner, more resilient, and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers.

NYSERDA has also expressed interest in bidding in an auction to be held by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, for the right to lease offshore wind development sites in federal waters over the Outer Continental Shelf.  The 81,000-acre lease area is located south of Long Island, off the Rockaway Peninsula.  BOEM is expected to hold the lease sale later this year.

NY Clean Energy Standard adopted

The New York Public Service Commission has issued an order adopting a clean energy standard.  The standard will require 50% of New York’s electricity to be generated by renewable sources by 2030.  This so-called "50 by 30" mandate is consistent with the State Energy Plan's strategy to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.  It will also provide support for existing nuclear power plants said to be at risk for closure without state support.  This is a time of change for the New York energy industry, as the Clean Energy Standard adds to the regulatory and retail market changes that the state is already pursuing under its Reforming the Energy Vision or REV program.

The New York commission noted that the state has adopted "strongly proactive policies to combat climate change and modernize the electric system to improve the efficiency, affordability, resiliency, and sustainability of the system." The state's 2015 State Energy Plan called for the "50 by 30" goal for renewable energy.

In the Commission's words, it determined "that a series of deliberate and mandatory actions to build upon and enhance opportunities for consumer choice are necessary to achieve State environmental, public health, climate policy and economic goals; to enhance and animate voluntary retail markets for energy efficiency, clean energy and renewable resources; to preserve existing zero-emissions nuclear generation resources as a bridge to the clean energy future; to ensure a modern and resilient energy system; and to accomplish its objectives in a fair and cost-effective manner."

As a result, the Commission adopted a Clean Energy Standard or CES consisting of a Renewable Energy Standard and a Zero-Emissions Credit Requirement program.  The Commission also adopted supporting structures, which it describes as including:

(a) program and market structures to encourage consumer-initiated clean energy purchases or investments; (b) obligations on load serving entities to financially support new renewable generation resources to serve their retail customers; (c) a requirement for regular renewable energy credit (REC) procurement solicitations; (d) obligations on distribution utilities on behalf of all retail customers to continue to financially support the maintenance of certain existing at-risk small hydro, wind and biomass generation attributes; (e) a program to maximize the value potential of new offshore wind resources; and (f) obligations on load serving entities to financially support the preservation of existing at- risk nuclear zero-emissions attributes to serve their retail customers.

As described by Governor Andrew Cuomo, the program will feature a ramp-up of renewable power sourcing.  Utilities and other energy suppliers will be initially required to procure 26.32 percent of the state's total electricity load from renewable sources in 2017, increasing to 30.54 percent by 2021.  The Commission described the 50 by 30 goal as "not only part of a larger greenhouse gas goal, it is part of the State’s sweeping initiative to transform the way energy is produced, delivered, and consumed" through the REV process.

The Clean Energy Standard order also creates a Zero-Emissions Credit or ZEC requirement, along with a process through which state energy agency NYSERDA will offer qualifying nuclear facilities a multi-year contract for the purchase of ZECs, at a price ultimately derived from the calculations of "social cost of carbon."  NYSERDA will ultimately resell the ZECs to New York load serving entities, who will recover costs from ratepayers through commodity charges on customer bills.  The Commission described the ZEC mechanism as "the best way for the State to preserve the nuclear units’ environmental attributes while staying within the State’s jurisdictional boundaries. "

As described in the order, the Renewable Energy Standard and ZEC components "are interrelated but the goals are additive," meaning efforts to comply with the RES will not count toward the ZEC requirement, even if the combination will "contribute toward the State's comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction goals."