Tesla is in negotiations with a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, New York’s biggest power utility, to supply storage batteries that balance electricity supplies across the system, according to a proposal filed with the state Public Utilities Commission.
Compared to Tesla’s high-profile mega-battery in Australia, the two proof-of-concept battery installations proposed by Orange & Rockland Utilities “are modest in size”, at just two megawatts and four megawatt-hours each, CleanTechnica reports. “But they could form the basis for adding more and larger systems throughout Con Edison-affiliated companies in the future.”
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Even at a small initial scale, “O&R says the batteries should make it possible for selected commercial and industrial customers to reduce the demand charges they currently pay, which can account for as much as 70% of their utility bills,” writes Rhode Island-based freelancer Steve Hanley. As well, “if the projects are successful, the utility company expects it may be able to defer or avoid investments in transmission and distribution infrastructure upgrades.”
“When energy storage is deployed for multiple value streams, the amount of value and revenue generated on a per unit basis increases to capture previously idle storage capacity for productive use,” O&R states in its regulatory filing. “This additional revenue means that multi-use applications of energy storage can be economically viable in locations where single-use applications are not.”
