Overview of NY Clean Energy Award
1.7 Gigawatts and the Answer to “What About When the Sun Doesn’t Shine?”- Inside New York’s Biggest Clean Energy Award Ever
Additionally, New York has put real numbers behind its clean-energy award plans. The NY Clean Energy Award provides context for these figures.
On September 23, 2026, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority announced awards for eight bulk energy storage projects and 13 large-scale renewable energy projects.
Additionally, together, the projects represent 1.7 gigawatts of new large-scale energy resources.
They NY Clean Energy Awards are also expected to:
- Create more than 1,000 family-supporting jobs
- Generate over $3.7 billion in private investment
- Deliver more than $127 million in economic benefits to disadvantaged communities
- Add 950 megawatts of bulk energy storage
- Add more than 719 megawatts of renewable energy
The announcement answers one of the oldest criticisms of renewable energy:
What happens when the sun does not shine? Conversely, what happens when the wind does not blow?
New York’s answer is storage.
Storage as a key factor for these NY Clean Energy Award
For years, critics have argued that solar and wind cannot provide dependable power because weather changes.
That criticism identifies a real grid challenge. However, it does not describe the full clean-energy system.
Solar panels produce the most electricity during the day. Wind production can rise and fall. Demand, meanwhile, continues into the evening and overnight.
Energy storage helps connect those different schedules.
A battery can charge when renewable power is available. Then, it can send electricity back to the grid when demand rises or renewable production falls.
For this New York Clean Energy Award for their really first bulk energy storage procurement will add 950 megawatts of this flexibility.
The projects will use lithium-ion technology. They will provide between four and eight hours of storage duration.
In plain language, megawatts describe how much power a battery can deliver at one time. Duration describes how long it can continue delivering that power.
A four-hour battery can support the grid through a major evening demand period. An eight-hour system can provide a longer bridge through low renewable production or extended grid stress.
Eight storage projects will span New York for this Clean Energy Award
The storage awards cover several regions:
Western New York
- Lighthouse Energy Storage in Chautauqua County
- Zenobe Burns in Allegany County
Finger Lakes NY Clean Energy Award
- Eastwater Energy Storage in Monroe County
Hudson Valley NY Clean Energy Award
- KCE NY 5 in Ulster County
For Green Living Guy readers in Westchester and the Hudson Valley, KCE NY 5 is the closest awarded storage project.
New York City
- Blue Spruce Storage in the Bronx
- Palladium Storage in the Bronx
Long Island
- Holtsville Energy Storage in Suffolk County
- KCE NY 37 in Suffolk County
This geographic spread matters. New York cannot build a reliable grid by placing every project in one part of the state.
Storage near New York City and Long Island can support heavily populated areas. Projects farther west can help manage renewable generation and transmission needs across the state.
The environmental justice story is the real story
Battery storage is not only a grid-modernization tool.
It can also become public-health infrastructure.
New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Senior Energy Planner Daniel Chu described renewable energy paired with storage as critical infrastructure for retiring and replacing aging fossil-fuel peaker plants.
Peaker plants run during periods of especially high electricity demand. They may operate for only a limited number of hours each year. Nevertheless, they can produce significant air pollution and often rely on older, less efficient equipment.
These facilities have also been disproportionately located near low-income communities and communities of color.
That creates a double burden. Residents may face more pollution during demand spikes. They may also experience less reliable service and more frequent outages.
Replacing peaker plants with renewable energy and storage can address both problems.
The result will depend on project design, local permitting, transmission access, and actual fossil-fuel retirements. Still, the goal is clear: cleaner electricity should improve the communities that have carried the greatest pollution burden.
Safety was built in from the beginning
Large battery projects have faced understandable public concern.
Lithium-ion batteries can overheat under certain conditions. Battery fires can also require specialized response strategies. Therefore, safety cannot be an afterthought.
NYSERDA says these projects must meet New York’s new storage safety codes. The requirements took effect on January 1, 2026.
The rules reflect recommendations from the New York State Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group, convened by Governor Kathy Hochul.
The requirements include:
- Training for first responders
- Safe facility siting
- Appropriate emergency facilities
- Comprehensive emergency response plans
State Fire Administrator James Cable said protecting first responders and surrounding communities remains a top priority.
That approach is important for the industry. Storage must scale, but it must also earn public trust.
New York’s model recognizes that permitting and safety need to move together. Communities should not have to choose between grid reliability and local protection.
Renewable projects add a diverse mix
The 13 renewable-energy projects will add more than 719 megawatts of capacity.
They include:
- Land-based wind
- Solar
- Hydroelectric power
The projects are expected to generate enough electricity for more than 230,000 New York homes annually once completed.
Several projects are located in the Capital Region, North Country, Finger Lakes, Central New York, and Southern Tier.
The list includes Flint Mine Solar and two Hecate Energy projects in Greene County. It also includes Wethersfield Windpark, Canisteo Wind Energy Center, Greens Corners Solar Park, and Rich Road Solar Energy Center.
Hydropower also deserves attention.
High Dam Hydroelectric Facility, Diamond Island Hydroelectric Facility, Theresa Hydroelectric Project, and Spier Falls represent the less visible side of New York’s clean-energy portfolio.
Hydroelectric facilities can provide firm, dispatchable electricity. That makes them a useful complement to variable wind and solar generation.
In addition, this diverse approach reflects an important reality: storage is not one technology, and renewable energy is not one resource.
New York needs a portfolio.
This is the generation side of New York’s electrification plan
Green Living Guy recently covered New York’s $35 million public Level 2 EV charging program. That initiative focuses on where drivers plug in.
The new NYSERDA awards focus on where clean electricity comes from and how the grid manages it.
Those efforts belong in the same story.
More electric vehicles will increase electricity demand. Public chargers will make EVs practical for drivers who cannot charge at home. However, the transition also requires new generation, stronger transmission, and storage that can shift electricity to the hours when drivers need it.
The same principle applies to other storage technologies.
Our coverage of thermal energy storage and Finland’s sand battery concept showed how excess electricity can become stored heat. New York’s awards focus on electrochemical storage for the electric grid.
Different technologies serve different jobs.
Meanwhile, manufacturers such as LG Energy Solution are also expanding domestic battery production for stationary storage. The company’s Lansing, Michigan facility demonstrates how the battery industry is moving beyond electric vehicles and into grid infrastructure.
The honest caveat: awards are not operating projects
This announcement is significant. Still, none of these awards means that all 21 projects are already operating.
Payments will not begin until the projects receive required permits and local approvals. Storage payments will begin only after commercial operation. Renewable projects must be constructed and delivering electricity before payments start.
All projects are expected to be operational by the end of 2030.
That timeline creates accountability. It also creates risk.
The storage solicitation attracted bids from 46 projects totaling approximately 6 gigawatts of capacity. NYSERDA selected about 950 megawatts.
That gap tells us something important.
Developers are proposing projects. The pipeline is large. However, procurement, contracting, permitting, and revenue certainty remain bottlenecks.
New York’s ambition is larger than this one award round.
NYSERDA plans to issue a second annual Bulk Energy Storage Request for Proposals by the end of 2026. The state is working toward procuring 3 gigawatts of bulk storage through three solicitations.
The next rounds will show whether New York can convert its project pipeline into steel, batteries, transmission connections, and operating facilities.
New York is moving while federal support shrinks
The announcement also reflects a widening state-federal divide.
New York officials and clean-energy advocates acknowledged federal challenges and rollbacks. At the same time, the state is trying to capture remaining federal tax incentives before they become less available.
That is a practical decision.
Projects take years to develop. Developers need predictable contracts. Communities need time for review. Utilities need time to plan interconnections.
Therefore, locking in projects now can protect investment and employment even as federal policy changes.
Governor Hochul’s CHARGE agenda takes an “all of the above” approach. It includes renewable energy, storage, transmission, grid modernization, consumer protections, and an 8.4-gigawatt “Nuclear Backbone.”
That does not make nuclear power a substitute for renewable build-out. Instead, it reflects a pragmatic portfolio strategy.
The renewable and storage awards announced today are the clean-energy additions happening now.
What this means for ratepayers
The strongest economic argument is not only the $3.7 billion investment.
It is price stability.
Fossil-fuel prices can rise because of geopolitics, supply disruptions, and global market volatility. Homegrown wind, solar, hydropower, and storage can reduce exposure to those shocks.
That does not guarantee lower bills immediately. New infrastructure also requires investment. However, diversifying the electricity system can protect households and businesses from relying on fuel sources whose prices New York cannot control.
The projects also create local economic opportunities.
Labor leaders emphasized family-sustaining and union careers. NYSERDA expects more than 1,000 jobs. The state also projects over $127 million in benefits for disadvantaged communities.
Those benefits must reach host communities in tangible ways. Jobs, tax revenue, workforce training, cleaner air, and improved reliability should not remain promises on a press release.
The bottom line
New York’s 1.7-gigawatt award package is important because it addresses the complete clean-energy system.
Solar and wind provide low-emission electricity. Hydropower adds firm generation. Batteries shift electricity across the day. Public chargers connect transportation to the grid.
Most importantly, storage can help New York retire some of its dirtiest peaker plants and improve conditions in communities that have experienced decades of pollution and reliability problems.
The caveat remains clear: announced is not the same as built.
By 2030, New Yorkers will be able to judge this program by the projects operating in their communities. For now, however, New York has taken a major step toward answering the renewable-energy question that has shaped the debate for decades.
When the sun does not shine, the battery can help keep the lights on.
Acknowledgments
Green Living Guy thanks NYSERDA, President and CEO Doreen M. Harris, Deanna Cohen, the New York State Inter-Agency Fire Safety Working Group, local officials, project developers, labor organizations, and community advocates for providing the information and public perspective behind this coverage.
- Explore North American solar and battery storage for additional context.
- Explore battery storage and growing electricity demand for additional context.
- Explore solar and wind power developments for additional context.
- Explore global renewable electricity demand for additional context.
- Explore New York solar energy for additional context.
- Explore New York’s clean-energy workforce for additional context.
- Explore thermal energy storage for additional context.
- Explore federal solar deployment for additional context.
Sources
- NYSERDA: 2026 Announcements
- NYSERDA: Bulk Storage Incentives
- New York Public Service Commission: Updated 6 GW Energy Storage Order
