Summit Ridge Energy, a solar and energy storage company in the U.S., announced that it commissioned the first two of its four energy storage systems (ESS) in New York City. The 15 megawatt hours (MWh) Arlington ESS and 15 MWh Littlefield ESS, feature energy storage hardware and software supplied by Qcells, a leading provider of complete energy solutions and long-term partner of Summit Ridge Energy. Located across Brooklyn and Staten Island, the projects support New York’s targets to achieve 100% clean power by 2040. The projects will stabilize the grid and improve resiliency as more renewable energy sources are added to the power mix, including off-shore wind energy.
Once the remaining projects are energized in the coming months, Summit Ridge Energy’s four ESS will provide 58 MWh of energy storage capacity to New York’s electric grid and reduce the need for diesel-powered peaker plants. Summit Ridge Energy financed, developed and constructed the projects, in partnership with Qcells, and serves as the long-term owner-operator.
The projects will also deliver power to the grid during periods of peak demand. Until now, diesel-powered generators have been the stop-gap measure to meet demand during these periods. As well as being cleaner than diesel power, Summit Ridge Energy’s ESS are better suited to the task of dispatching energy into the grid at short notice.
The Arlington and Littlefield projects came online under the New York State Public Service Commission’s (PSC) Value Stack (VDER) program. The program recognizes the benefits that energy projects, such as ESS, provide to the energy grid and society, including reducing carbon emissions and greater cost savings to customers and utilities.
NYU Langone Health partnered with Summit Ridge Energy to purchase all of the bill credits from these first two projects as an innovative strategy to support grid resiliency and the transition to cleaner energy for all New Yorkers. NYU Langone is demonstrating the important role large end users, such as hospitals, can play in the move towards a low carbon future. These agreements support the health system’s sustainability goals, which recognizes climate change as a threat to public health, and includes a carbon neutrality goal by 2050.
“These energy storage projects are providing critical grid resilience for New York City and supporting the state’s transition to renewable energy,” said Brian Dunn, Chief Operating Officer at Summit Ridge Energy. “We have been working closely with local governments and other stakeholders over the last several years to shape battery storage legislation in the city and are proud to see the first of these four projects come online. We are happy to lead the charge in expanding storage in New York.”
“As we pursue opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our facilities, it is equally as important for us to support efforts to harden and decarbonize New York City’s energy grid for the benefit and resiliency of the communities we serve,” said Paul Schwabacher, Senior Vice President, Facilities Operations, NYU Langone Health.