Renewable energy news outlets have reported that Con Edison, a utility company serving New York City, has teamed up with Centrica Business Solution to convert a large parking lot in Brooklyn into a hybrid facility that provides energy storage and EV charging. Centrica has a wide-encompassing business portfolio that includes solar PV, energy-as-a-service, energy efficiency solutions, etc.
Con Edison stated via a press release that it has contracted Centrica to build, own, and operate the hybrid facility in Brooklyn. The site will have a battery energy storage capacity of 5MW/15MWh and 18 DC fast chargers for EVs. Its energy storage capacity is sufficient for supplying electricity to 5,000 apartments for four hours during the peak period of the summer months. The fast chargers reach 350kW in output and can fully charge an EV within one hour. The whole project is one of many planned by Con Edison to push New York City toward the path of sustainable development. The construction of the project is currently scheduled to begin in the summer of 2022.
The Brooklyn facility will serve the role of a virtual power plant that is connected to Con Edison’s grid. The grid will charge the facility during nighttime when both the electricity demand and rate are low. Also, Centrica will sell a part of the electricity from the facility to the wholesale market. Since the parking lot area is owned by Con Edison, Centrica will make rental payments to Con Edison for the use of the land.
Con Edison’s sustainability strategy calls for billions of dollars in investments in renewable generation systems, energy efficiency technologies, GHG reduction efforts, and EV charging infrastructure. Taking account of the future impact of climate change, the company aims to double its energy efficiency by 2030 and transition to 100% renewable energy by 2040. Currently, its renewable energy portfolio includes PV projects, wind projects, and battery energy storage projects across 20 states in the US. PV projects account for the largest portion of its generation mix.
Regarding the development of EV infrastructure, Con Edison’s subsidiaries will spend more than US$350 million by 2025 to build thousands of EV charging stations in the company’s service areas. The infrastructure will be supporting not only personal EVs but also commercial EVs and electric buses. It is also worth pointing out that Con Edison announced this March that it has developed the first fully electric bucket truck in the US with vehicle manufacturers Lion Electric and Posi-Plus.