- The 4.8 MW/16.4 MWh battery located in Brooklyn will support the local grid with its energy reserve during times of peak demand, improving network reliability and contributing to New York’s plans to deploy 3 GW of energy storage by 2030
Rome, December 9th, 2019 – Enel X, the Enel Group’s advanced energy services business line, and Related Companies, a global real estate firm, today announced the launch of the largest battery storage system in New York City. The 4.8 MW/16.4 MWh in-front-of-the-meter battery system is located at Related’s Gateway Center in East New York, Brooklyn community and will support the local grid of New York energy company, Con Edison, in periods of high peak demand, helping to keep service reliable.
“New York is a complex, densely-populated market in continuous growth, which requires innovative technologies to address evolving energy challenges. Storage systems, like this one, are among the critical tools that can help take on these challenges, by increasing energy systems’ flexibility and stability,” said Francesco Venturini, Head of Enel X. “Enel X works with customers and partners to offer solutions tailored to their specific needs with the aim to generate value for customers, while also benefitting the grid.”
Enel X was selected by Con Edison under the New York energy company’s Brooklyn-Queens Neighborhood Program[1], which works with customers to help them manage their consumption and the way they use energy. This program and the deployment of solutions, like the battery storage project at the Gateway Center, have helped Con Edison defer costly infrastructure upgrades. Through a lease agreement with Related, Enel X and Related installed and connected the storage system to Con Edison’s grid. The system’s design enables a direct relationship between Enel X’s energy storage resource and Con Edison, while simplifying the lease transaction from a real estate perspective by removing the complexities of energy management and tenant participation from the structure. This novel, highly replicable space leasing real-estate structure could be leveraged to help deliver many of the State and City’s energy and sustainability goals where commercial real estate is a necessary stakeholder.
“Sustainable solutions that support growing energy demands in large urban markets like New York City, while benefiting local communities, are more important than ever before,” said Luke Falk, Vice President of Related Companies. “We have been an innovator in sustainable building practices for decades and investing in sustainability in East New York for over 15 years, having opened the LEED[2] Silver-certified Gateway Center in 2002 and integrating large solar installations in the neighborhood. We saw the opportunity for a storage facility onsite and are gratified to have partnered with Enel X to bring a clean energy solution that will improve energy reliability in the community.”
To date, the Gateway Center project has delivered over 100 MWh of stored electricity from the battery storage system to the local grid, providing support during periods of peak demand. The system also helps to reduce emissions by limiting the need for more carbon-intensive electricity during peak demand periods.
The lithium-ion battery system is designed to meet the stringent safety requirements of the New York City Fire Department, and is a best-in-class containerised solution for battery storage systems. Precision Renewables, an affiliate of Related Companies, oversaw the installation of the facility with Enel X.
In 2018, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced a nation-leading goal of implementing 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030, to create a cleaner, more diverse and more resilient energy grid. In New York, Enel X currently has 16 customer-sited storage projects including one solar-plus-storage project providing multiple services that enable demand management, drive cost savings for consumers and support the grid.
Existing Enel X projects in New York City include the solar-plus-storage microgrid at Marcus Garvey Apartments in Brooklyn, as well as storage and demand response for a number of properties owned by luxury real estate group Glenwood Management. Like all Enel X storage deployments, the project at Gateway Center will use Enel X’s Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Optimization software, and its unique capabilities to maximise the earnings potential across multiple options[3].
Related has long been a leader in sustainable developments across all asset classes from affordable housing to retail and commercial developments. The firm developed one of the first LEED-certified residential buildings in the nation, Tribeca Green in Battery Park City, in New York, and Chicago's first LEED-certified residential building, 340 on the Park. The first phase of Hudson Yards recently received LEED Neighborhood Development Gold certification and the development’s first commercial tower, 10 Hudson Yards not only achieved LEED Platinum status, but is one of the most energy efficient commercial towers in New York City. A first-of-its-kind microgrid powered by two cogeneration plants is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25,000 Metric tons of CO2 annually while 10 million gallons of storm water will be collected each year on the property. The efforts of Related and its strategic partners, KSW Mechanicals and Precision Renewables, have resulted in more than 130 MW of solar installations including more than 35 MW of rooftop solar at such assets as 529 West 29th (a 100% ground-up affordable development) and retail and residential complexes at Gateway Center and Gateway Elton in East New York.
Enel X is Enel’s global business line dedicated to developing innovative products and digital solutions in sectors in which energy is showing the greatest potential for transformation: cities, homes, industries and electric mobility. Enel X holds the leading position in demand response programs globally, with over 6 GW of demand response capacity currently managed and assigned in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Enel X’s electric vehicle charging station technology, called JuiceBox®, and its JuiceNet® platform, provide smart management of electric vehicle charging and other distributed energy storage facilities. Enel X operates over 50,000 electric vehicle smart charging points in 20 countries. Enel X in North America has around 3,700 business customers, spanning more than 10,400 sites, representing approximately 4.7 GW of demand response capacity and over 20 operational behind-the-meter storage projects. The company’s intelligent DER Optimization Software is designed to analyze real-time energy and utility bill data, improve performance, and manage distributed energy assets, including behind-the-meter storage projects.
Related Companies is a global lifestyle company defined by innovation and the most prominent privately-owned real estate firm in the United States. Formed over 40 years ago, Related is a fully-integrated, highly diversified industry leader with experience in virtually every aspect of development, acquisitions, management, finance, marketing and sales. Headquartered in New York City, Related has offices and major developments in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, South Florida, Washington D.C., Abu Dhabi and London, and boasts a team of approximately 4,000 professionals. With over 50 billion US dollars in assets owned or under development including the 28-acre Hudson Yards neighborhood development on Manhattan’s West Side, Related was recently named to Fast Company Magazine’s list of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World. For more information about Related, please visit www.related.com.
[1] Also known as the Brooklyn-Queens Demand Management Program (BQDM)
[2] Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is the most widely used green building rating system in the world
[3] Including demand response, peak shaving, demand management etc.