SUNY Oneonta will be part of a federally funded energy storage project.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced that New York state will receive U.S. Department of Energy funding for a long-duration energy storage demonstration project that will use fire-safe battery technology. The technology can be used in urban and rural settings to demonstrate a stable energy supply during periods of high demand and in extreme weather conditions, according to a news release from Hochul’s office. The announcement supports the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals and marks progress to achieve a nation-leading six gigawatts of energy storage by 2030.
“Energy storage that ensures a safe and reliable power supply is critical to New York’s clean energy future,” Hochul said. “By supporting leading-edge projects — such as these installations that provide extended storage duration — we will validate new technologies and illustrate how grid storage can be safely and effectively integrated into communities throughout the state.”
According to the releaser, the project will be developed by the New York Power Authority, Rockland County-based Urban Electric Power and Electric Power Research Institute with an installation at Westchester County’s Grasslands Reservation in Valhalla and another at the SUNY Oneonta campus.
SUNY Oneonta President Alberto J.F. Cardelle said, “SUNY Oneonta is committed to partnering with environmental visionaries in New York state and beyond. Using our campus to host and study this new clean energy technology is a valuable opportunity to build scalable solutions to our regional energy needs, provide educational programming for our students and community, and spur new economic development efforts within the Mohawk Valley. As co-chair of SUNY’s Sustainability Advisory Council, I look forward to working with our partners across SUNY on opportunities to leverage and build upon this leading-edge initiative.”
Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek said, “On behalf of the city of Oneonta, I want to share our excitement at the potential of this collaboration of the state, SUNY Oneonta and the New York Power Authority. Long-duration storage can provide a cost-savings benefit to our citizens while ensuring an energy capacity that will benefit our community in countless ways. This is a wonderful example of partnership for the public good, and we are grateful to all those who’ve made it happen.”
The project has been selected to receive funding by the DOE “with the intent to catalyze impactful long-duration energy storage (LDES) demonstration projects capable of delivering electricity for 10-24 hours, surpassing the conventional short-duration systems that lithium-ion can typically support,” the release stated. The funding award of more than $6.5 million will cover half of the $13.1 million project cost and was made possible through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The technology is being installed at two regionally diverse sites in New York “to demonstrate viability in varying geographical settings for different load characteristics,” the release stated. Each system will be 300 kilowatts with 12 or more hours of operation and offer the potential for reducing electric bills through demand charge reduction from peak shaving. The SUNY Oneonta project will also support a forthcoming on-site solar project, helping to achieve the campus’ long-term clean energy plans. The exact site location on each campus will be determined as part of the first phase of work. Construction will begin in 2026 and the facilities will be operational in 2028, according to the release.
New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “The Power Authority is invested in pursuing the development of the technology needed that will support the integration of renewable generation while also ensuring that power is available during peak demand periods. This cutting-edge, long-duration energy storage project seeks to demonstrate a safer clean energy technology, illustrating New York State’s leadership in accelerating the transition to renewable resources and validating the use of these systems in meeting customer needs and commercial viability.”
The projects will demonstrate the viability of UEP’s zinc manganese dioxide batteries in large-scale and long-duration energy storage systems. The batteries utilize a fire-safe chemistry using low-cost and largely domestically available, earth abundant raw materials that can be readily provided through existing supply — and more than 75 percent of UEP’s raw material vendors are based in the U.S. The batteries have the same chemistry as household batteries and are expected to show comparable performance to lithium-ion batteries without the inherent safety and supply chain issues, according to the release.
SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. said, “Our congratulations to SUNY Oneonta on its selection as one of two sites for the cutting-edge, long-duration energy storage demonstration project, which has the potential to provide climate resiliency and demand management benefits. This project being tied directly to the campus’ distribution system is just another example of how SUNY is collaborating with our state and federal partners to develop new paths toward sustainably powering our campuses and, ultimately, advancing Governor Hochul and New York State’s ambitious climate goals.”