In the coming weeks, GlidePath Power Solutions LLC will begin preparing sites in New York's Lower Hudson Valley region for building four 20-MW battery storage plants, each with at least four hours of capacity, according to an executive at the Chicago-based developer.
"GlidePath is now working to complete detailed engineering, make final equipment selections, and begin procurement prior to starting to build the facilities," GlidePath Chief Development Officer Peter Rood said in an email after the company announced progress on "one of the largest portfolios of standalone battery storage projects to date in New York state."
An affiliate of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners Pty. Ltd., GlidePath recently received an $8.8 million award for its Lincoln Park Grid Support Center, near the town of Ulster, from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA. GlidePath originally planned to build the Lincoln Park project as a hybrid system combining batteries with natural gas generation, according to the company, but switched to a battery-only design.
GlidePath is also seeking NYSERDA incentives for its North Catskill Grid Support Center, Highland Grid Support Center and Union Avenue Grid Support Center. Together, the four projects represent a total capital investment of $120 million, according to the developer.
While GlidePath has not yet announced any contracts, the fully permitted projects are designed to provide peaking power and ancillary services to help balance supply and demand as New York progresses toward its target of 100% zero-carbon power by 2040. As part of that broader ambition, New York has a goal of adding 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030, with an interim target of 1,500 MW by 2025.
The projects are part of the developer's 1,600-MW pipeline of energy storage projects across the United States "that are expected to be realized within the next one to five years," the executive added.
GlidePath's projects come amid a flurry of energy storage development activity in New York. A subsidiary of Ares Management Corp. on Feb. 4 announced its intention to acquire a portfolio of energy storage projects from Dimension Renewable Energy totaling as much as 300 MW. In October 2019, state regulators approved the development of a 316-MW project in the New York City borough of Queens.