US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks during the visit to West Virginia alongside Senator Joe Manchin. Image: Joe Manchin’s office.

A newly-announced battery gigafactory in the US from startup SPARKZ will make batteries suitable for grid storage and will be built in the heart of Appalachian coal county in West Virginia. 

The official announcement was made last Friday during a visit to several sites in the US state by US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.

Together with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, they unveiled various measures aimed at reinvigorating the local economy and retraining and retooling the workforce away from fossil fuels.

“Appalachia lies at the heart of President Biden’s strategy for Building a Better America. DOE is making major investments in clean energy development and deployment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strengthen America’s energy security and independence, unleash Appalachia’s clean energy potential, and create high-quality jobs across this region,” Granholm said. 

US$5 million funding for an initiative to develop a US battery supply chain workforce was probably the biggest announcement made on the policy front: the Department of Energy’s initiative seeks to create a “coherent national approach” to this issue, it said. 

The DOE will support training pilot programmes to grow unionised and well-paid labour in the energy and automotive industries, convene with industry and labour leaders and coordinate with the Li-Bridge public-private partnership to advance US lithium battery manufacturing, as well as with the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries (FCAB) which has been formed by government agencies.

Meanwhile SPARKZ, which claimed to have developed a cobalt-free, solid state lithium battery technology, said it will build its gigafactory in West Virginia and is now determining final site selection from two potential locations. 

The DOE said SPARKZ’ promised investment into workforce development and training will be significant, including a partnership with the United Mine Workers of America to directly train up West Virginians that transition into the “new energy economy”.

Although the company did not give an indication of the expected production capacity of the factory, it said 350 workers will be initially employed as it commercialises the battery tech and the factory should open during this year. 

Reducing the US reliance on China for nearly the whole lithium-ion battery value chain at present is considered a motivating factor behind the plant’s development. 

Little info is given on SPARKZ’ website about its technology, although the company got a US$2.6 million grant from the California Energy Commission in 2021 to develop it and a pilot production facility and R&D centre were opened in that state’s Silicon Valley near the beginning of this year. 

The batteries are lithium iron phosphate (LFP), but are claimed to be twice the energy density of comparable products made in China and the technology is exclusively licensed from six patents held by the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, an R&D partner to the company. 

“Sparkz is re-engineering the battery supply chain by eliminating cobalt and setting our sights on making other battery components in America to end China’s dominance,” SPARKZ CEO Sanjiv Malhotra said. 

“The Biden Administration’s efforts to support economic revitalisation in energy communities is extremely important for workers and job creators like us as we scale to full commercial production. America’s clean energy future will reach its potential when we innovate and manufacture the next generation of energy storage domestically.”

Transitioning to an advanced clean energy economy

The US lags behind Europe in kickstarting its domestic battery manufacturing efforts, but it has been a stated priority of President Joe Biden and his colleagues for some time. Funding for close to US$3 billion to support this was announced recently, among other measures taken.

Another LFP-making startup, American Battery Factory, recently claimed that it could have a network of US gigafactories up and running within two years. 

Energy-Storage.news reported yesterday that market research group Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables forecasted for LFP to become the dominant cell chemistry for all applications including transport and grid storage over nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) by 2028.

Makers of lower range electric vehicles (EVs) are starting to favour LFP because of its cost, longer lifecycle and perceived safety advantages, while energy storage system integrators have been adopting it for longer, particularly as the stationary storage sector is not as sensitive to energy density concerns as the automotive trade. 

Politically-minded clean energy observers might take heart at Manchin enthusiastically welcoming the gigafactory and other energy and economic transition plans for his region and praising the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which is enabling them. He also highlighted his support for a West Virginia Hydrogen Hub. 

The Senator has more recently been noticed as the obstructive force preventing Biden’s equally bipartisan Build Back Better legislation, which includes significant funding and tax measures to support clean energy, from passing.  

“At every stop, we heard from West Virginians who reminded us of the enormous sacrifices our coal communities have made to keep the lights on and power our nation,” Manchin said of Granholm and Haaland’s visit. 

“I was especially excited about the new initiatives and developments we announced to help diversify and strengthen the West Virginia economy by creating new and good-paying jobs and revitalising our communities.”

West Virginia governor Jim Justice on the other hand, who has spoken in the past of his will to keep coal plants running even if they no longer prove economical, went a little off-message at the event, with a comment that “harnessing the power of our coal, oil and natural gas, and by embracing an all-of-the-above energy strategy, West Virginia can help put America back on a pathway to energy independence”.

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Lisa Grow

Idaho Power will facilitate construction of a new 40 MW solar project in partnership with Micron. The project supports Micron’s goal to source 100% renewable energy for its U.S. operations by the end of 2025. As part of the contract, Idaho Power has asked the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) to approve a power purchase agreement with Black Mesa Energy LLC, an oil and gas exploration and production company, to develop a dedicated solar facility for Micron’s renewable energy use. The new facility will be located near Micron’s Boise corporate headquarters and R&D center.

“Micron is taking a step toward our goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy in the U.S. in 2025 by supporting solar development in our home state,” says Manish Bhatia, executive vice president of global operations at Micron. “This highlights our commitments to both our communities and the environment. We’re pleased to partner with Idaho Power and bring our efforts one step closer to meeting our sustainability goals.”

The project is one of the first under Idaho Power’s proposed Clean Energy Your Way – Construction offering, enabling large customers to partner with Idaho Power on new, dedicated renewable energy resources to meet business sustainability goals, while simultaneously adding new renewable resources to Idaho Power’s system. Idaho Power has established its own goal to provide 100% clean energy to its customers by 2045.

“This agreement with Micron is an example of the innovative thinking that will be required as we all move toward a clean energy future,” states Lisa Grow, Idaho Power’s president and CEO. “We are excited to be a part of Micron’s goal of sourcing 100 percent renewable energy for their U.S. operations, and we’re proud that they are starting that journey with us, right here in Idaho where they have been an important part of our community for more than four decades.”

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Beaufort Solar, another Capital Power Corp. solar project located in Chocowinity, N.C.

Capital Power Corp.’s first Canadian solar facility is now operational. The 41 MW Strathmore Solar facility, located on 320 acres of leased industrial land owned by the Town of Strathmore, was completed on schedule. It is fully contracted with 100% of the renewable energy generated and associated renewable energy credits sold to TELUS Communications under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

“We’re proud to complete our first ever Canadian solar facility on schedule and help Alberta further expand the clean energy capacity available to power our economy,” says Brian Vaasjo, president and CEO for Capital Power. “As we work to power a sustainable future for people and planet, this project represents another step on our pathway to net carbon neutrality by 2050 and we’re excited to partner with TELUS to support their decarbonization goals too.”

“At TELUS, a critical component of our energy supply strategy is to transition to the use of renewable energy,” states Scott Dutchak, vice president of corporate real estate, sustainability and environment at TELUS. “Capital Power’s Strathmore Solar facility is our fourth power purchase agreement in Alberta. Combined, these renewable energy sources will help us achieve 100 percent net carbon neutrality for our operations by 2030. Investing in renewable energy makes our business more sustainable by powering our network from cleaner energy sources and contributes to a more sustainable future for our planet and generations to come.”

Hon. Dale Nally, associate minister of natural gas and electricity for the government of Alberta, emphasizes how the partnership between Capital Power and Whispering Cedars Ranch demonstrates the possibilities of renewable energy and traditional industry collaborating on sustainable energy for the future. Capital Power will host 400-600 sheep from Whispering Cedars Ranch to graze at the Strathmore Solar facility, helping to sustainably manage the land on site to reduce fire hazards and help keep the facility well-maintained.

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A Dominion Energy solar PV project in Virginia. Image: Dominion Energy.

US utility company Dominion Energy Virginia has received approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to expand its portfolio of solar and energy storage projects.

The expansion includes 15 new projects to be brought forward by Dominion Energy, as well as 24 power purchase agreement (PPAs) with third-parties for a total capacity of 1GW.

Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, said: “This is another significant milestone in Virginia’s transition to energy independence.

“These projects will support thousands of good jobs and hundreds of millions in economic activity in communities across Virginia. This is a positive step forward for our customers, the environment and Virginia’s economy.”

The projects are expected to be completed between 2022 and 2023.

The company said the construction of the 15 projects is expected to generate US$880 million in economic benefits in the state as well as create more than 4,200 jobs.

The utility company had sent the proposal back in September 2021 to the SCC.

Clean energy policies enacted in Virginia in 2020 set a deployment target of 3.1GW of energy storage by 2035, the largest target of its type in the US until New York State doubled its previously-set 3GW target by 2030 to 6GW at the beginning of this year.

This story first appeared on PV Tech.

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Inauguration of 14MW of BESS in Mauritius late last year. Image: Stéphane Bellerose@UNDP Mauritius.

Island nations Mauritius and Barbados have both begun renewable energy procurement processes that involve energy storage.

In common with other island regions around the world, both countries rely on importing fossil fuels at great cost to meet their energy demand and have seen energy storage paired with renewables, particularly solar PV, as a solution.

The Central Electricity Board (CEB) of Mauritius in East Africa issued a request for proposal (RfP) last week for the purchase of electricity from hybrid renewable energy facilities, defined in this instance as solar PV-plus-battery storage. 

The CEB, a government-owned and operated power generation and distribution agency, has invited sealed bids from prospective bidders. The board plans to sign agreements for purchasing between 90MW to 110MW electricity. 

A model energy supply and purchase agreement (ESPA) is expected to be made available to bidders within a month after the RfP opens and bidders have until 22 June 2022 to submit bids.

Also advertising for international bidding a few days ago was another CEB RfP for purchase of electricity from small scale renewable energy hybrid facilities, this time seeking to procure 30MW to 50MW. 

CEB built the first grid-scale battery systems in Mauritius in 2018, with funding support from the multilateral Green Climate Fund (GCF), which has to date supported billions of dollars of projects in 150 countries.

In Mauritius, the GCF part-funded the battery systems as part of a raft of measures to accelerate the development of low-carbon energy in the country, which meets 84% of its primary energy requirements with imported fossil fuels.

Coal and fuel oil imports in particular have been feeding rising greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) but the country it targeting for renewable energy to provide 35% of its energy demand by 2025 and then 60% by 2030. 

After that first pair, which were each of 2MW power output and 1.12MWh capacity and built at two substations, a 14MW battery energy storage system (BESS) project split across four CEB substations was commissioned through the GCF programme late last year, also supported by the United Nations Development Programme. 

The 14MW project, split into three 4MW sites and one 2MW site, required a budget of about US$10 million to complete. Siemens France supplied the BESS, which is being used for frequency regulation ancillary services.

CEB general manager Jean Donat said at the time that project was inaugurated that the era of renewable energy optimisation “is well on the way,” in Mauritius, with the board having integrated more than 100MW of solar PV into the grid by then.  

The country’s government said in 2020 that it was committing funds to increase battery deployments to 40MW in a 2021-2022 budget announcement. 

Imported fossil fuels harm island economy while polluting

Meanwhile the Caribbean island of Barbados is targeting 100% renewable energy use and carbon neutrality by 2030 and — as was the case with the UNDP’s assessment of Mauritius — the government has described renewables with storage as a powerful way of democratising energy. 

In seeking to create a framework for the procurement of renewable energy and/or energy storage, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is hosting a competitive solicitation for consultancy services to help develop it. 

Issued a few days ago, interested parties have until 4 April 2022 to respond. The project is called “Support for the Design of Carbon Neutral Strategies in the Context of Energy Transition in Barbados”.

It is offering a seven month contract for consultancy services with an estimated budget of US$200,000.

According to the IDB’s summary, the island, with 280,000 inhabitants, imports fossil fuels for over 90% of its energy needs and in 2018 its fuel import bill stood at US$253 million. Only 5.5% of electricity sold in the country came from renewable sources, abut 3.5% from rooftop solar PV and 2% from its sole 10MW utility-owned solar farm. 

As well as the high cost of fuel, the impact can be felt in damage to Barbados’ natural habitat, which as an economy dependent on tourism also has a knock-on economic effect.

In transitioning the energy sector, the government Ministry of Energy and Business Development will need to procure large capacities of renewable energy, hence the need for a framework to be in place. 

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The Energypark Haringvliet in the Netherlands. Image: Vattenfall.

Swedish public utility Vattenfall has opened its Energypark Haringvliet in the Netherlands, which combines wind, solar and a 12MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).

The project, located 20km south of Rotterdam, features six wind turbines, 115,000 solar panels and a BESS with 12MWh of energy capacity. The 150m wind turbines have a max power output of 22MW while the solar farm can generate 38MW.

Energypark Haringvliet is a true hybrid renewable generation-plus-storage project with the BESS connected to the generating units allowing it to smooth out intermittency. The batteries will also be used for grid balancing.

Vattenfall’s announcement focused a lot on the fact that the three technologies all share the same substation, cables and most importantly grid connection. Grid congestion is a major problem in the Netherlands, according to a panellist speaking at Energy Storage Summit 2022 last month (produced by Energy-Storage.news’ parent company Solar Media).

A total of €61 million (US$67 million) has been invested into Energypark Haringvliet.

BELECTRIC built the solar park while energy solutions integrator Alfen supplied the BESS, which uses 288 of the same batteries that go into BMW’s i3 electric car. Alfen has previously worked with Vattenfall using BMW batteries for a similar projects in Wales using wind.

“The opening of Haringvliet is a great step for Vattenfall’s wind and solar business, a proof point for our competence to develop and build cross technology projects in Europe,” said Claus Wattendrup, head of Solar at Vattenfall.

Pairing solar with storage is now fairly commonplace and often accounts for the majority of new storage deployment. Pairing with wind, however, is less common.

As Energy-storage.news wrote in a feature on the topic, one issue is that markets often do not have a regulatory classification for storage, let alone storage-plus-solar or storage-plus-solar-plus-wind. This, and the general complexity that comes with combining three technologies, makes it more difficult for grid operators and project developers to do the required modelling about how a project’s output will affect the grid.

Another issue for solar and wind hybrids is fairly different geographical features required for a site meaning a rare overlap. Wind turbine parks also have much longer construction times than solar and energy storage portions, making project delivery a delicate balancing act.

The Netherlands is a bit behind some other Western European countries on deploying storage but this could soon start to change according to a national sector body. One big positive has been the removal of double taxation for storing and later selling energy, removed at the start of 2022.

However, energy storage is still classified as an energy consumer and so is charged transportation costs for drawing from the grid, even though it will later re-inject that energy back in with little-to-no-loss.

Vattenfall is a Swedish multinational power company owned by the state but it also operates in Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

The project specifications in this article are from earlier press releases about Haringvliet – we’ve asked Vattenfall to confirm their accuracy but have yet to receive a response at the time of writing.

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Slate, a solar-plus-storage project developed in California by Canadian Solar’s Recurrent Energy subsidiary and sold to Goldman Sachs Renewable Power, went online a few weeks ago. Image: GSRP.

Canadian Solar shipped just under 900MWh of battery storage in 2021, the first full year of its involvement in the segment, but expects to double that figure this year. 

The vertically-integrated solar PV company’s CSI Solar manufacturing subsidiary shipped 896MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) technology during last year, while the parent company made total annual PV module shipments of 14.5GW.

As reported by our sister site PV Tech last week from Canadian Solar’s Q4 and full-year 2021 financial results, the company’s gross margin came in above issued guidance at 19.7% for the year, but CSI Solar saw margins come under pressure from spiralling material and logistics costs that have impacted solar manufacturers across the board. 

However, as chairman and CEO Dr Shawn Qu remarked, the battery business is growing fast. The battery storage solutions business contributed to “significant growth” in Q4 revenues year-on-year, at US$1.53 billion a 47% increase from Q4 2020.

Battery storage shipments for 2022 are guided to be in the range of 1.8GWh to 1.9GWh, which is an increase on previously offered guidance of 1.4GWh to 1.5GWh. 

“We will continue to invest in technology and upstream capacity and expect to continue growing our solar module market share. We are also excited by the significant progress and accelerating growth of our battery storage business, which is a large greenfield opportunity for us,” CEO Shawn Qu said.

“As with our other markets, we plan to succeed by introducing innovative products, including our own battery storage product, which we expect to launch in the coming quarters.”

US$150 million raised by Canadian Solar via a share offering late last year was said at the time to be largely earmarked for developing its battery storage solutions capabilities.

CSI Solar’s system integration business wraps up full turnkey integrated BESS solutions complete with performance guarantees. Long-term O&M agreements offered alongside the solutions create a further stable revenue stream, as well as opportunities to augment battery capacity at existing sites. 

As of the end of January, CSI Solar had 300MWh of operational battery storage delivered under long-term service agreement (LTSA) models which generate recurring earnings. It had 2,043MWh of equipment deals for projects contracted or already in construction and expected to be delivered within a year-and-a-half.

A further 390MWh of deals forecasted with a 75% or higher probability of being contracted for within a year and rounding out the CSI Solar pipeline is a further 3,619MWh of project opportunities the company considered to have a less than 75% chance of converting into business but could pursue.  

A late-year 2021 highlight for CSI Solar was the signing in November of a strategic cooperation framework agreement on holistic battery storage system tech innovation with CATL, a world leader in lithium battery manufacturing. 

CSI Solar’s revenues for battery storage solution sales were just over US$222 million for 2021, up from US$7.9 million in 2020.

Rendering of the 561MWh BESS project Slate during development. Image: Canadian Solar.

27GWh battery storage development pipeline of opportunities

Canadian Solar actively develops utility-scale solar PV and energy storage projects through its Global Energy business segment, including standalone battery storage as well as solar-plus-storage. 

That said, nearly all projects developed during 2021 co-locate solar and battery storage, allowing the assets to share a grid interconnection point — often the most valuable piece of project development real estate for either technology. 

The company has signed various tolling agreements for the use of its battery storage projects as well as development services contracts to retrofit existing solar PV plants with batteries. 

All of the developed projects so far are in North America, with an emphasis on the California market. As of the end of January 2022, Canadian Solar had 2,681MWh of battery projects in construction in the North America region. However, 465MWh of its 841MWh backlog was in Latin America, 56MWh in the EMEA region, 20MWh in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan and China and 300MWh in China. 

During 2021 Canadian Solar sold on a 1.4GWh battery storage project and a pipeline of 27GWh of development opportunities for storage along with a 24GWp solar PV opportunity pipeline gave the Global Energy business division a “strong platform for growth,” its president Ismael Guerrero said. 

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Liquid air energy storage (LAES) technology company and project developer Highview Power is among the new group’s members. Image: Highview Power.

A meeting between energy storage industry representatives and the UK’s energy minister Greg Hands took place last week, with discussions centring on unlocking investment in energy storage technologies.

Organised by the Long-Duration Electricity Storage Alliance, the meeting saw representatives from energy companies Drax and SSE Renewables and technology providers Highview Power and Invinity Energy Systems meet with Hands, the Minister of State at the government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

According to the Alliance, representatives spoke on how decarbonising the UK’s electricity system by 2035 will require a range of flexible home-grown, long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies in order to strengthen the contribution of renewables and deliver system stability.

A recent report from Aurora Energy Research highlighted the need for LDES, suggesting that up to 24GW of LDES could be needed to effectively manage the intermittency of renewable generation in line with a net zero electricity system by 2035.

Aurora said that a cap and floor mechanism would be best positioned to support the deployment of LDES, echoing similar findings from KPMG.

Finlay McCutcheon, SSE Renewables, director of onshore Europe said: “The swift introduction of an adapted cap and floor mechanism by government this year could unlock billions of pounds of investment in these vital technologies and create thousands of skilled jobs.”

In a cap and floor mechanism, revenues or margins are subject to minimum and maximum levels. Below the ‘floor’ customers would top-up revenues, and earnings above the ‘cap’ would be returned in whole or in part to customers. It is a model currently used for interconnectors.

The Alliance said LDES will “not only play a major role in significantly reducing the UK’s reliance on imported gas” – a key focus of the UK government in light of rising gas prices – but it will also deliver significant efficiency gains to the UK grid, helping to lower consumer energy bills. 

Energy bills are set to rise next month as a new price cap comes into effect- 54% higher than the current price cap.

“The Long-Duration Electricity Storage Alliance is a key part of our plan to get the full benefit from our world-class renewables sector,” Hands said, adding that the government has already committed £68 million (US$90.38 million) of funding towards the development of LDES technologies.

In July 2021, the government also announced a call for evidence on how to enable long-duration energy storage.

The Long-Duration Electricity Storage Alliance is a new association of companies aiming to progress plans across a range of technologies to be first of their kind to be developed in the UK for decades. 

It intends to work with the government to unlock potential developments in new pumped storage hydro capacity, as well as to accelerate the commercial deployment of emerging technologies such as liquid air energy storage and flow batteries.

The group could be considered a UK-based counterpart to the international Long Duration Energy Storage Council, a CEO-led organisation which launched last year at COP26 talks. The Council’s members include large renewable energy off-taker companies like Microsoft and Google, alongside various energy storage and wider energy sector stakeholders.

The US government has taken a similar approach to the UK in launching competitive funding opportunities to support the commercialisation of long-duration energy storage tech, as well as making other commitments such as the construction of a long-duration R&D centre at PNNL, one of the country’s national laboratories.

The US Department of Energy (DoE) has set a target to lower the cost of long-duration storage 90% by 2030 to make it competitive.

Meanwhile, in continental Europe, industry groups have urged European Union lawmakers to recognise the importance of energy storage, especially long-duration, to enable the low-carbon energy transition while maintaining reliability and suppressing the costs of modernising the electricity network.

Additional reporting for Energy-Storage.news by Andy Colthorpe.

This story first appeared on Current±.

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Nexamp and Borrego have completed and co-located two energy storage projects with existing Nexamp community solar farms in Massachusetts. The battery storage projects will provide critical frequency regulation services for the ISO New England market in addition to other grid functions.

The projects are located in the grid-congested area of central Massachusetts, in the National Grid service area. Brockelman Road is a solar+storage project capable of generating 1.7 MW of solar energy alongside 1 MW/2 MWh of battery storage, while Clark Road is a solar+storage project with 7.1 MW of solar capacity and 3 MW/6.1 MWh of storage. Both participate in the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program, which provides incentives for co-located solar and storage projects.

“Energy storage is critical for our ability to deploy renewable energy to broadly resolve issues of energy security and climate change,” says Mark Frigo, vice president of energy storage at Nexamp. “Our dozens of storage projects under development fulfill a variety of functions and use cases for a diverse group of customers. With each project that goes live we not only create value for our customers, but also contribute to a cleaner grid that is more stable and resilient.”

The storage projects participate in the Massachusetts Clean Peak Energy Standard program as well as ISO New England’s capacity and frequency regulation markets. The Clean Peak Energy Standard program provides incentives to clean energy technologies that supply electricity or reduce demand during times of peak power usage. The capacity and frequency regulation markets fulfill reliability functions for the regional power market, deploying resources to avoid outages and ensure that sufficient supply is online to support the power grid.

“Nexamp and Borrego share a long history of helping Massachusetts advance on the promise of a cleaner, more resilient energy future for its residents and businesses,” notes John Murphy, Nexamp’s senior vice president of corporate development. “Our shared commitment to quality development and vision for a decarbonized future is once again bringing reliable savings and meaningful grid improvements to the Commonwealth.”

“We value our longstanding relationship with Nexamp and have partnered with them on many projects in Massachusetts and elsewhere,” mentions Brendan Neagle, Borrego’s EVP of project finance. “Our companies leveraged our experiences as early adopters of storage and solar-plus-storage systems in the Commonwealth to bring these projects to fruition, working in close cooperation with all project stakeholders.”

In addition to the energy storage solutions Nexamp is developing alongside its own solar generation facilities, the company offers a variety of on-site battery storage solutions, with and without solar, to help companies, utilities and other organizations reduce electricity costs and realize a variety of reliability benefits.

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Gov. Kathy Hochul has revealed that New York has become the top community solar market in the United States, with more than 1 GW of community solar installed and operational – enough to serve 209,000 homes across the state.

New York also has the largest project pipeline in the nation, with enough community solar under construction to serve an additional 401,000 homes.

“Reaching this nation-leading milestone – with more than 1 GW of community solar installed – is a testament to New York’s aggressive pursuit of clean-energy alternatives that will supercharge our economy and bring us one step closer to a carbon-neutral future,” Hochul states. “New York is once again making clean energy history, and with many families facing the burden of rising energy costs, my administration remains committed to expanding access to solar energy, which will deliver savings and stabilize electricity bills while meeting our aggressive climate goals.”

“Over 1 GW of progress was made today, enough to power over 200,000 homes across New York State,” says Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin. “When we think about the future of our state, we must think about both the economic prosperity we aim for in addition to the welfare of our children. Now, when those future generations of New Yorkers look toward today, they’ll know progress was made with them in mind. I’m proud to announce today that New York is the capital of solar power in the United States.”

The announcement was made in Schenectady County at a 7.5 MW community solar project that is paired with 10 MWh of energy storage on the site of a former landfill. Located in the town of Glenville, the project was developed by DSD Renewables, which is also the owner and operator of the project. The site is part of a seven-project, 25 MW portfolio made possible through a collaboration with the Schenectady County Solar Energy Consortium.

Community solar made up 70% of total solar installations across the state in 2021. In addition, New York’s distributed solar pipeline is now comprised of more than 708 of these projects totaling 2,300 MW. This pipeline is complemented by 73 New York State-supported utility-scale solar projects under development throughout the state.

The achievement of this milestone has been underpinned by robust support from NYSERDA‘s NY-Sun program, the state’s signature $1.8 billion initiative to advance the scale-up of solar while driving costs down and making solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses, and communities. Currently, installed distributed solar projects, combined with the projects that are under development, bring the State to 95% of the current Climate Act goal to install six gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025.

Read the full release and more statements here.

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