NYSERDA Announces Winners of Clean Energy Challenge to Modernize New York's Electric Grid

Winning Teams Under First Two Rounds of “Future Grid Challenge” Will Improve Efficiency and Reliability in Renewable Energy Integration

March 26, 2020

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced awards to five winning teams under the first two rounds of the Future Grid Challenge aimed at developing solutions to integrate clean and renewable energy into the electric grid. The project teams will help New York’s utilities such as Central Hudson Gas & Electric, Consolidated Edison, National Grid, and Orange & Rockland improve efficiency and reliability to advance renewable energy integration. These public-private partnership projects support New York’s mandate for a carbon-free electric grid by 2040 and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Green New Deal, the nation-leading clean energy and climate agenda that has set the State on path to economy-wide carbon-neutrality.

Alicia Barton, President and CEO, NYSERDA said, “Under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, NYSERDA is proud to support projects critical to advancing a carbon-free electricity grid. The teams selected show how expertise, experience and innovation are coming together to advance forward thinking solutions that can meet the State’s future energy needs to enhance grid reliability and the integrity of renewables while decreasing harmful emissions, reducing energy use and lowering costs for all New Yorkers.”

New York’s aggressive decarbonization goals and statewide scale-up of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, require increasing the existing electric grid’s capabilities while reducing distribution costs to the consumer and system upgrades.

The following winning teams were selected:

• ConnectDER, UL/AWS Truepower and Itron will deploy a low-cost monitoring technology and develop a new communication system to integrate aggregated solar data directly into Con Edison’s existing Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI).
• Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Integrated Analytics and Clean Power Research will utilize real-time data collection to forecast distributed energy resource generation to improve operations and planning at Con Edison.
• Smarter Grid Solutions, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Borrego Solar will test smart inverter integration with Orange & Rockland’s Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) to develop a better understanding of smart inverter functions, control and communications capabilities and how they impact grid stability, voltage regulation, and system losses.
• EPRI, Schneider Electric, General Electric and Smarter Grid Solutions will help Central Hudson Gas & Electric develop and demonstrate a scalable system that can integrate large amounts of renewable energy resources for transmission and distribution systems.
• Utilidata, National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), Standard Solar and Chint Power Systems will work with National Grid to evaluate how to integrate solar power into utility operations to provide a seamless and full integration of renewable energy using smart inverters to maintain system reliability and how smart inverters can further enhance voltage optimization.

John B. Rhodes, CEO, Department of Public Service said, “Under Governor Cuomo, New York is driving toward a carbon-free electricity system. We know we need new solutions for that. Today’s awards deliver on that - these are promising and practical innovations that enable a smart and reliable clean electric grid.”

NYSERDA worked with utility companies across New York State to identify challenges for its Future Grid Challenge. The Challenge is part of The Clean Energy Fund Grid Modernization Investment Plan providing a total of $110 million through 2022 to help modernize New York's electric grid and combat climate change. Since 2016, NYSERDA’s Smart Grid program has awarded approximately $53 million under 69 contracts to grid technology companies and research organizations for projects including low-cost high-accuracy grid sensors, modeling and simulation tools, and advanced engineering solutions for more effective integration of renewable energy resources. Learn more on NYSERDA's website.

Grid Modernization is one of several Innovation programs at NYSERDA focused on technology and business advancements to support New York State’s clean energy and decarbonization goals. NYSERDA’s Innovation programs partner with technology companies, researchers and end users to support the development, accelerated deployment and commercialization of technologies and business models. This is achieved through direct support of research and early stage companies as well as through its network of proof of concept centers, incubators, and other support programs.

New York State's Green New Deal

Governor Cuomo's Green New Deal is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, putting the state on a path to being entirely carbon-neutral across all sectors of the economy and establishing a goal to achieve a zero-carbon emissions electricity sector by 2040, faster than any other state. It builds on New York's unprecedented ramp-up of clean energy including a $2.9 billion investment in 46 large-scale renewable projects across the state, the creation of more than 150,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector, a commitment to develop nearly 1,700 megawatts of offshore wind by 2024, and 1,700 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2012. The recently passed Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) mandates the Green New Deal's national leading clean energy targets: nine gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035, six gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025, and three gigawatts of energy storage by 2030, while calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy. The CLCPA also directs New York State agencies and authorities to collaborate with stakeholders to develop a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 and aim to invest 40 percent of clean energy and energy efficiency program resources to benefit disadvantaged communities.

About NYSERDA

NYSERDA, a public benefit corporation, offers objective information and analysis, innovative programs, technical expertise, and funding to help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, save money, use renewable energy, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. NYSERDA professionals work to protect the environment and create clean-energy jobs. NYSERDA has been developing partnerships to advance innovative energy solutions in New York State since 1975. To learn more about NYSERDA’s programs and funding opportunities, visit nyserda.ny.gov or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.