Con Edison signs agreement with 174 Global Power for largest energy storage project in New York State

Con Edison is teaming up with 174 Power Global to develop the largest battery storage project in New York State on an industrial site in Astoria, Queens.

The batteries at the East River Energy Storage System will be able to discharge 100 megawatts of electricity. The site will be located off 20th Avenue near the East River on land owned by the New York Power Authority, where the former Poletti power plant used to be. 174 Global will build and own the facility.

“Utility scale battery storage will play a vital role in New York’s clean energy future, especially in New York City where it will help to maximize the benefit of the wind power being developed offshore,” Tim Cawley, the president of Con Edison, said. “This project with 174 Power Global will help displace some fossil fuel-fired generation when the demand for power is highest.”

Battery storage makes it possible to capture energy and store it for use when the power demand exceeds the renewable generators’ capacity. The batteries will be charged from the grid when the power demand is low and less expensive. They will be discharged at times when the demand for power is high. This decreases the need for power from fossil fuel-fired plants.

“New York is an important market for 174 Power Global due to the state’s commitment to clean energy,” 174 Power Global President and CEO Henry Yun said. “We are proud to have been selected by Con Edison for this project, and we look forward to working together to help bring clean power, as well as other regional electricity and economic benefits to the Astoria community and more broadly to the state.”

“Expanding battery storage is a critical part of how we advance momentum to confront the climate emergency while meeting the energy needs of all New Yorkers,” said Mark Chambers, director of Sustainability for the City of New York. “Today’s announcement demonstrates how we can deliver this need at significant scale.”

Con Edison and 174 Global Power have a seven-year contract under which Con Edison will bid power from the battery system into the state’s wholesale market. At the end of the contract, 174 Power Global will dispatch the power into the state’s bulk power transmission system.

Con Edison already has access to a 2-megawatt battery system in Ozone Park, Queens, a 1-megawatt storage unit at a customer site on the North Shore of Staten Island, and a 4.8-megawatt battery system at the Gateway Center shopping center in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood.