Eastern Generation to Retire Oil-Burning Peaker Plants and Launch Battery Projects at Three Existing Generating Stations
First Project to Be in Astoria
New York, NY – Eastern Generation, LLC “Eastern Generation,” which owns electric generating stations that account for nearly 18% of New York City’s power generation capacity, announced today that it is facilitating the clean energy transition by building new energy storage solutions in New York City. Eastern Generation is an affiliate of ArcLight. Eastern Generation plans to install energy storage projects at three of its existing facilities. Once fully approved and operational, the batteries will provide over 350 MW of storage, helping New York meet its ambitious renewable energy targets. The first storage project, which filed for authorization at the New York Public Service Commission “NYPSC” today, will be located at the Astoria Generating Station and will provide 135 MW of energy storage.
“Eastern Generation is well positioned to assist in the transition to a carbon free future, while continuing to provide a safe and reliable electric system,” said Mark Sudbey, CEO of Eastern Generation. “We are prepared to help meet zero carbon goals. Our actions today are part of this larger effort as we look at our existing sites and beyond to help reimagine a safe, reliable power supply.”
As part of the shift, Eastern Generation also announced that it is withdrawing its Article 10 application previously submitted to the New York State Siting Board to repower the Gowanus Generating Station on the Brooklyn waterfront with new gas turbines so that it may effectively proceed with energy storage development at the site. In addition, the company will file with the NYPSC and the New York Independent System Operator to retire two oil-only power barges at Gowanus as soon as November 2022, six months ahead of the scheduled May 2023 closure mandated by State regulations.
The Astoria and other future battery projects will be located at Eastern Generation’s three existing power generating facilities in New York City, which are industrially zoned and buffered from residential communities. These locations are ideal for energy storage because the electric system in New York City was built around the existing generation and connections to the grid already exist.
Eastern Generation has been actively engaging clean energy developers from the emerging offshore wind and green transmission sectors over the last three years and is completing a transaction for the sale of its retired No. 6 fuel oil tank yard at the Astoria facility to a developer of a clean energy project, enabling the delivery of over 1200 MW of renewable energy to New York City.
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), enacted by New York State in 2019, recognizes that energy storage will play a crucial role in meeting the State’s overall energy goals and requires the development of at least 3,000 MW of energy storage by the year 2030. With the CLCPA’s mandate of eliminating fossil fuels for generating electricity in New York State by 2040, energy storage projects such as these are essential to accomplish that requirement, particularly with the variability of solar and wind which will be the backbone of electric supply introduced into the market. Eastern Generation has a history of developing and operating successful generation systems in New York and other states and is well-positioned to house, install and operate energy storage systems.
Today’s petition to the NYPSC for a certificate under the Public Service Law to construct the Astoria energy storage project is available on the NYPSC website.
