The New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST), a consortium of battery and energy storage companies, universities and industry partners, and DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, a leading global energy consultancy and authority in testing, inspection and certification, announced a partnership which would infuse $23 million into the new Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Testing and Commercialization Center in Rochester, New York. That’s according to a press release from DNV KEMA.
Under the agreement, DNV KEMA will provide up to $16 million in investments, including the cost of re-locating its existing energy storage testing operations from its laboratory facility in Pennsylvania to the new Center at Eastman Business Park in Rochester. NY-BEST will provide $6.9 million of State grants into capital facility improvements and for purchasing additional advanced testing equipment for the Center.
The timing couldn’t be better, since according to a report in Green Tech Media, the opportunity for storage just got bigger with a new order from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that requires public utility transmission providers to add to its OATT [open access transmission tariff] to better account for and report transactions associated with the use of energy storage devices in public utility operations.
“FERC Order 784 is a huge step forward for energy storage, as it will help to open ancillary services markets for storage project developers…the new accounting and reporting rules introduced in this order will help utilities achieve rate recovery for energy storage equipment,” wrote Janice Lin, Managing Partner, Strategen Consulting and Co-Founder and Executive Director of the California Energy Storage Alliance in an email to GTM.
According to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, the Center will lease more than 17,000 square feet of space from Eastman Kodak. Construction will be completed by fall of 2013, with the Center opening planned for December 2013.
The new Test and Commercialization Center will provide elements necessary for product commercialization and growth in the energy storage business. That includes test, validation, and independent certification that help to speed up bringing the technologies to market. These capabilities are difficult for individual companies to procure, and are not yet available in convenient locations or at an affordable price. That’s what this partnership hopes to change.
“We see energy storage as a crucial option for the transition to a more flexible supply of electricity that will be required as more intermittent renewable and distributed energy options are connected into the grid,” Hugo van Nispen, Chief Operating Officer, Americas Division, DNV KEMA.
NY-BEST estimates that energy storage employs about 3,000 people in New York State and is responsible for more than $600 million in annual global sales. The study found that the sector could grow to more than 11,400 new jobs by 2020 and 43,000 new jobs by 2030, with the new center serving as a key catalyst for attracting the jobs to the state.
To read the press release, click here