Instead of building a new substation or expanding an existing one, National Grid is taking another route to meet the demand for electricity in Cicero. It’s working with Convergent Energy and Power.
“To our knowledge, it’s the first solar plus storage system providing a non-wires alternative in the United States, which is truly a remarkable achievement and one that we’re incredibly proud of," said Frank Genova, COO of Convergent Energy and Power.
The innovative clean energy project, NWA Pine Grove, is all about solar.
“With this project is it’s called a non-wires alternative. It’s where we partnered with the company Convergent to build a solar farm here along with battery energy storage that will allow us to meet the peak energy needs we have in the suburbs in this area and do it in a more cost effective manner than having to build out more of the electric grid," said National Grid New York President Rudy Wynter.
We all know we don’t get as much sun in upstate New York as other areas, and that’s where the energy experts say the batteries at this site will come in handy. Batteries are charged when demand is low, and discharged when energy demand is high.
“If the solar is falling short based on the weather or something out of our control, the batteries can discharge and basically support the solar," said Mario Titolo, managing director of Project Management at Convergent Energy and Power.
Wynter said this move is more affordable and is intelligent, as power can be […]
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