Advancements in Energy Efficiency, Renewables & Distributed Energy
Summary
As part of our commitment to renewable energy, Con Edison’s Clean Energy Businesses continued growing by investing approximately $400 million in renewable electric projects in 2022 and operating a total of 3,074 megawatts of aggregate solar and wind capacity at the end of 2022.
Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (CECONY) and Orange & Rockland, Inc. (O&R) remain committed to the clean energy goals of both New York State and New York City. With ambitious targets for Distributed Solar, Energy Storage and Zero Emissions Vehicles, both companies continue to work with policy makers and stakeholders to remove barriers to Distributed Generation (DG) interconnection. Both CECONY and O&R publish a Distributed System Implementation Plan, most recently in June 2020, that serves as a five-year outlook in areas such as Integrated Planning, Information Sharing and Market Services. The Implementation Plan is used to engage the stakeholder community in the processes and programs that continue to shape the Distributed System Platform. An update to this document is scheduled to be filed in June 2023.
CECONY and O&R continue to work with the DG community to facilitate and streamline the connection process. In addition, both companies continue to publish hosting capacity maps for distributed solar and electric vehicle development. Through the bi-annual Hosting Capacity Stakeholder Working group we have most recently begun to solicit feedback and align on approaches to add Storage Hosting Capacity maps in 2023.
CECONY and O&R continue to work with the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) on its implementation of a Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Aggregator Market in compliance with FERC Order 2222. A DER Aggregator Market will allow smaller DGs connected on the distribution system to participate in the NYISO’s wholesale energy market. Both companies understand the need to continue to expand the value that DERs can receive from the electric grid as well as use these resources to provide services that can enhance grid flexibility. Technology continues to be a valuable component to overall value and through an effort by the New York State utilities, there is an increasing focus on smart inverter functionality, which is the ability for an inverter to take operating signals and parameters and adjust based upon grid needs. Smart inverter functionality will be a core component to enhancing the relationship between the distribution system and DG.
Finally, CECONY and O&R recognize the value of increased data and information sharing. Beginning in 2021 and moving forward,the companies are working with stakeholders and the PSC to investigate more efficient and robust means of exchanging system and customer data through the Integrated Energy Data Resource and Data Access Framework efforts.
Energy Efficiency & Demand Response
CECONY and O&R offer a broad array of energy efficiency initiatives designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower customer bills, and give New Yorkers control over their energy choices. CECONY and O&R have ramped up energy efficiency efforts that are facilitating New York’s ambitious clean energy goals. We are working with partners across our service territory to better serve low- and moderate-income customers as well as providing choices to our customers to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels through adoption of beneficial electrification technologies such as heat pumps and electric transportation. Additionally, CECONY and O&R are achieving deeper and longer- lived energy efficiency savings by targeting more impactful technology upgrades.
Our customers are as diverse as the area we serve. That’s why we have targeted efficiency programs to help us deliver cost- effective and customer-centric offerings that emphasize the clear benefits and impacts of energy efficiency. We focus on four primary customer segments—commercial and industrial, small business, multifamily, and residential—designing our offerings to meet each customer segment needs. Our goal is to give customers multiple options and opportunities to reduce their energy use.
In 2022, CECONY provided electric and gas customers over $490 million in incentives to choose energy-saving heat pumps, HVAC, lighting, building management systems, and other equipment.
Customer upgrades last year made through CECONY’s energy efficiency programs reduced electrical usage by 901,221 megawatt hours and saved 458,762 dekatherms of gas—that is the equivalent to taking more than 99,394 cars off the road or powering 58,106 homes for one year. These investments supported more than 11,500 customers installing high efficiency heat pumps under our Clean Heat Program, contributing 1.3 trillion British Thermal Units of energy savings. Technology is giving households and businesses new ways to reduce energy use, and CECONY is at the forefront in helping customers get more value for their money while protecting the environment.
O&R customers who upgraded to high efficiency energy-saving HVAC, lighting, building management systems, and other energy efficient equipment received $5.8 million in incentives from us in 2022. In addition to the O&R customer incentives, our Rockland Electric Company (RECO) customers received $1.9 million in incentives taking advantage of newly launched energy efficiency and demand response programs, that helped customers reduce their energy bills, convert to clean heating technologies, reduce peak demand, and lower their carbon emissions. O&R provides instant in-store rebates on the My ORU Store, our online marketplace, to make it easy for customers to make energy efficient choices. Custom offers, instant incentives, and manufacturer discounts have allowed customers to find affordable products to help them better manage their energy use. Through a multi-channel marketing approach, including targeted personalized emails, customers are made aware of the variety of products and programs that can help them reduce their consumption and lower their energy bills.
The My ORU Store platform provides educational information about solar generation and energy storage, and renewable heat pump technology. Customers with eligible smart thermostats purchased on the marketplace can enroll in RECO’s demand response program seamlessly during the online transaction process. By bundling offers, such as products and programs, the customer enrollment process is streamlined, and, as such, program participation has increased. With the recent launch of energy efficiency programs in RECO’s New Jersey service territory, the My ORU Store platform has continued to expand for RECO customers. The platform, branded with the familiar RECO logo, offers similar products, services, and online tools as well as rebates on electric measures including lighting, advanced power strips and smart thermostats.
In 2022, we reduced customer electrical usage by over 88,000 megawatt hours & saved 68,000 dekatherms of gas.
O&R is using technology to give households and businesses new ways to reduce their energy use, and get more value for their money, all while supporting the environment. In 2022, upgrades made by customers through our energy efficiency programs reduced electrical usage by over 88,000 megawatt hours and saved 68,000 dekatherms of gas. This reduced our carbon emissions by more than 231,000 tons, which is equivalent to taking more than 49,000 cars off the road. In 2022, O&R invested over $3.5 million on 385 customer projects installing heat pumps as part of our Clean Heat Program.
Renewables
CECONY and O&R continue to support New York State’s ambitious clean energy policies, including the State’s goal to source 70% of its energy from renewable resources by 2030, 100% greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)-free electricity by 2040, and an 85% reduction in New York State’s GHG emissions by 2050.
For the past decade, CECONY and O&R, along with Sustainable CUNY at City University of New York, government agencies, and other parties, have encouraged residents and businesses to consider solar to reduce their energy bills and protect the environment. Our customers are responding.
Using the power of the sun, our customers installed 700 megawatts of clean, renewable power by year-end 2022. This total includes 52,617 CECONY installations and 10,659 O&R installations.
Consolidated Edison, Inc. believes that all customers should have access to clean energy, regardless of income level, whether they own or rent or whether they live in a house or an apartment.
CECONY continues to explore opportunities to be more innovative in renewable and energy storage installations. In 2021, CECONY relaunched a piloted device, ConnectDER, enabling residential customers to realize additional savings while providing the Company’s engineering teams with solar production data to better forecast and plan system needs. CECONY also enhanced microprocessor relays to allow additional solar capacity to export power into our network systems, enabling the construction of additional community solar projects at higher capacities across the territory.
O&R continues interconnecting distributed energy resources (DER) at an increasing rate and is actively seeking opportunities to increase hosting capacity. O&R participated in the Smart Inverter Working Group and established smart inverter settings that are aligned with the other NYS utilities. O&R continued participation in the IEEE Interconnection Commissioning Program to identify, train and certify individuals for the commissioning of any installed DER interconnection to enhance compliance with IEEE 1547, which informs critical utility engineering and business practices for DERs in markets worldwide. A streamlined, standards-based process for interconnecting renewables and other DERs will reduce the cost and complexity among utilities, developers, and owners.
Through these initiatives, CECONY and O&R are helping realize a greener energy future.
As noted above, both CECONY and O&R continue efforts to expand distributed solar and other distributed energy resources throughout each service territory. The chart below shows cumulative interconnection for distributed solar since 2011:
CECONY interconnected 487MW of solar through 2022.
O&R has 213MW cumulative of solar interconnected at the end of 2022.
Energy Storage
CECONY and O&R are helping New York achieve its ambitious energy storage goals of 1,500 megawatts (MW) by 2025 and 6,000MW by 2030. Energy storage will play a critical role in our clean energy future and we continue to actively engage with the State’s Department of Public Service and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to support storage policy goals. CECONY and O&R seek to deploy storage using many innovative business models. When this storage is operating it will store energy produced by wind and solar, which will allow for increased reliance on these clean but intermittent sources of electricity. Many of these storage assets will participate in New York Independent System Operator markets to fulfill this objective. Storage connected to distribution grids also provides opportunities to defer infrastructure build, enhance local reliability, support the deployment of EV charging infrastructure, and help commercial and residential customers manage their bills.
CECONY and O&R energy storage goals: 1,500MW by 2025 and 6,000MW by 2030
Regulatory and legislative changes in 2022 may alter the trajectory of storage deployment. A Public Service Commission ruling on the Allocated Embedded Cost of Service Methodology will likely lead to lower costs for charging. The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by the U.S. Congress, will increase access to generous investment tax credits for storage projects. These changes leave developers better positioned to overcome challenges presented by constrained supply chains and volatile commodity prices.
CECONY continues to take the lead in addressing energy storage safety and zoning concerns, working closely with New York City agencies, state agencies, storage developers, and community stakeholders. The FDNY used CECONY’s Ozone Park battery site to develop its requirements for deploying outdoor stationary battery projects in New York City and create a Certificate of Fitness training module requirement for all battery owners. The Ozone Park system was used to establish fire system requirements, emergency response and other safety related items. Additionally, we drilled with first responders to practice response to various scenarios such as a catastrophic incident. O&R also continues to be a leader in this space and work very closely with external stakeholders such as Authorities having Jurisdiction (AHJ), first responders and fire departments to further inform and educate on energy storage. O&R hosted three separate emergency response personnel trainings on proper safety protocols for Lithium-ion battery energy storage systems for Rockland, Orange, and Sullivan counties. O&R wants first responders to understand the various safety aspects built into energy storage systems and their role in case of any battery emergencies.
Through 2022, CECONY interconnected a total of 446 distribution-connected customer energy storage systems, totaling 24.6 MW of capacity, and O&R also interconnected 403 total projects for a total of 19.1 MW. Of the 403 O&R projects, 397 were behind-the- meter residential energy storage systems, totaling 3.6 MW of capacity.
In recognition of the importance of storage deployment to the energy transitions, CECONY, has established a new Energy Storage Organization to develop an enterprise-wide storage strategy and implementation plan. The Energy Storage Organization will provide operational and performance monitoring for all storage assets and delivery channels, as well as program development to create new products and deployment channels to achieve New York State’s energy storage goals.
Utility-Scale Energy Storage
In 2019, CECONY and O&R issued a request for proposals (RFP) as part of our bulk solicitation program that solicited dispatch rights from utility-scale storage projects connected directly to the transmission or distribution grids grid. Both CECONY and O&R have continued to release further RFPs to make progress toward state storage goals, smooth the way for renewables with variable generation profiles to take up a larger share of capacity, and to provide flexibility to manage local grid contingencies.
In 2019, CECONY commissioned its first utility-owned storage project, a lithium-ion phosphate battery designed for 2 MW / 10 megawatt hours (MWh) in Ozone Park, Queens. The facility is being used to meet peak local demand and reliability needs. CECONY has also requested funding and received authorization for utility-owned storage in its rate case covering 2023 -2025. In 2023, CECONY will commission a utility-owned battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 7.5 MW / 30 MWh at a Staten Island substation. In addition, we are integrating current and future BESS into utility operations with certain maintenance functions carried out with Local 1, 2 and 3 workforces and centralizing operations for 24/7/365 monitoring and dispatch.
O&R commissioned its first utility-owned and controlled storage project in Pomona, NY in December 2020 after extensive collaboration with town officials and community first responders. The battery storage system is currently 3 MW/12 MWh with the potential to be upgraded to 4.5 MW/ 18 MWh. O&R currently operates the Pomona battery storage system, which has successfully provided peak demand reduction and enhanced system reliability. O&R’s knowledge of its distribution system’s needs allows it to dispatch the battery storage system when beneficial to the system. To date, the battery storage system has been discharged for demand relief purposes only during the summer period (in 2021 and 2022). In addition, O&R is in the process of upgrading the Pomona battery’s telemetry. The upgrade will allow communication with the NYISO and participation in the wholesale market.
CECONY and O&R continue to implement energy storage demonstration projects to test new business models. A total of 3 MW of such projects are operating in CECONY’s service territory, with another 1 MW project currently scheduled to come on-line in 2023.
Through its Innovative Storage Business Model demonstration project, O&R is working with partners to develop business models to help improve the economics of energy storage investments by enabling storage assets to participate in multiple markets. O&R is working with Sunrun to explore how residential solar-plus-storage systems can provide resiliency benefits to customers, provide demand relief benefits to the utility’s local distribution system and also earn additional revenues from participating in NYISO electricity markets.
O&R plans to deploy at least 300 residential solar-plus-storage systems by 2024 as part of this demonstration project. The total project portfolio will be approximately 2.1 MW / 4.7 MWh. This project will also be the first of its kind to participate in the NYISO wholesale market.
In New Jersey, O&R/RECO is working with New Jersey’s Electric Distribution Companies in response to New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ “New Jersey Energy Storage Incentive Program”. This program will shape New Jersey energy storage markets by encouraging energy storage deployments with a fixed and performance-based incentive.
Energy Storage through Non-Wire Solutions (NWS) /Non-Wire Alternative (NWAs)
CECONY and O&R also support energy storage through Non-Wire Solutions (NWS) (also referred to as Non-Wires Alternatives, or NWA). Both Companies consider storage to be important demand relief assets. At CECONY, NWS are supporting and incentivizing third-party owned and operated energy storage for local demand relief. There are currently two active program areas across six distribution networks: Brooklyn-Queens Demand Management (Crown Heights, Ridgewood, and Richmond Hill), and Newtown (Borden, Sunnyside, and Maspeth) along with one recently closed program area: Water Street/Plymouth (Williamsburg and Prospect Park). CECONY’s NWS portfolios have installed more than 4 MW of energy storage as of 2022, and have additional energy storage systems under contract for commercial operation in 2023 and 2024. In 2022, CECONY also announced new incentives for customer-sited energy storage systems that provide local demand relief in the Brooklyn-Queens Demand Management (BQDM) program area. The BQDM program is seeking applications for up to 15 MW of grid-connected or load-following energy storage systems that will be in operation by summer 2026.
O&R entered into a contract in 2021 for the West Warwick NWA project. This project will use three separate energy storage systems to address distribution system constraints. The project will use batteries totaling 12 MW / 60 MWh to defer the construction of a new transmission/distribution substation. O&R is currently constructing the project and expects the batteries to be deployed and operating for summer 2023. O&R has also held several outreach discussions with the local town and the first responders to address concerns that they may have.
O&R has two other procurements for energy storage systems to meet distribution system needs in place of traditional utility solutions. O&R’s Monsey project will aim to defer the upgrade of an existing substation. Due to extensive demand growth in the Monsey area, the current substation will not have adequate capacity to serve the forecasted customer demand. The Monsey NWA project plans to deploy 10 MW / 42 MWh MWh portfolio of batteries to defer the upgrade of this substation.
O&R recently identified another successful NWA project that will move forward: a 3 MW/12 MWh battery project located in the Hamlet of Sparkill in the town of Orangetown. The Sparkill project is expected to be in-service by the first quarter of 2024.
