Solar and energy storage company Summit Ridge Energy announced the commission of the 15-MWh Arlington and 15-MWh Littlefield energy storage systems (ESS)—the first two of its four ESS projects in New York City.

The Arlington and Littlefield projects were rolled out under the New York State Public Service Commission's Value Stack (VDER) program, which is a new mechanism to compensate energy created by distributed energy resources like solar in the form of bill credits.

Both the equipment and software of the projects are supplied by Qcells. Summit Ridge Energy financed, developed and constructed the projects and serves as the long-term owner-operator.

The remaining two ESS projects will be put into operation in the upcoming months. Once all four projects are commissioned, Summit Ridge Energy is able to supply 58 MWh of storage capacity to New York's electric grid, helping reduce the reliance on diesel-powered generators and instead use clean technology to suffice energy demand during peak hours.

These ESS projects are aligned with New York's strategy to facilitate the pace of achieving carbon-zero energy emissions. In light of the situation that clean energy supply is largely generated in upstate New York while fossil-fueled power is still the main power source in and around New York City, these projects will contribute to stabilizing and further decarbonizing the power grid as well as improving resiliency.

Premier academic medical center NYU Langone Health signed an agreement with Summit Ridge Energy to buy all of the bill credits associated with these first two projects in a bid to enhance grid resiliency and support the transition to cleaner energy for all New Yorkers.

Given energy storage's crucial role in New York's energy transition practices, over the last several years, Summit Ridge Energy has been working closely with local governments and other stakeholders to shape battery storage legislation in the city. "We are happy to lead the charge in expanding storage in New York," said Brian Dunn, COO of Summit Ridge Energy.