Battery developers want to plug 2.5 GW of storage into New York City’s grid—ConEd wants tens of millions for it. (New York Focus)
The context: Energy developers are scrambling to construct community-scale battery storage projects throughout the city, which could save ~$2 billion in energy costs over the next few years. This push is especially urgent as NYC faces a power shortfall as early as next year.
Not so fast: ConEd rolled out new interconnection standards last October that have tacked an average $21M in upgrade fees onto each project. The reasoning? New demand peaks could overwhelm local substations. The result? 25 projects scrapped, 91 more at risk, and $1.5B in investment on the line.
Last week, lawmakers, trade groups, and climate orgs fired off a letter last week urging ConEd to reverse course.