New York regulators recently approved plans to build the state’s biggest battery system at the aging power plant next to the East River in Queens.
316-megawatt system
According to a statement released from the New York Public Service Commission, the plan is to build a 316-megawatt system. This is reportedly powerful enough to provide electricity to more than 250,000 households for up to eight hours. The aim is to assist in stabilizing Consolidated Edison Inc.’s power grid and reduce the use of oil and natural gas.
The battery system will be based on lithium-ion technology and the Ravenswood power plant in Long Island City will be built in three phases. The first phase will be coming online in 2021.
Lithium-ion batteries still the primary choice for energy storage.
This is amongst the latest in a series of huge energy-storage projects announced nationwide in the USA. As the price of lithium-ion battery has fallen and officials wanting to harness the widely used technology to smooth power flows on grids hence aiming to displace heavy polluting old gas plants that only run when demand peaks and then incorporating more wind and solar energy as needed. Lithium-ion battery technology is ideally suited for such a vital energy storage solution.
“Energy storage is vital to building flexibility into the grid,” New York State Public Service Commission Chair John Rhodes said in the statement.
Learn more about Lithium-ion batteries for energy storage: Everspring.net