As Fossil Fuel Costs Rise, Renewable Energy And Storage Shine

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The price of fossil fuels in the US has always been sensitive to swings in the global commodities markets, such as the one occurring right now. The difference today is the mainstream status of renewable energy and energy storage, both of which dominate new utility-scale power generation capacity in the US. Today there are more opportunities for energy consumers to buffer themselves against the full impact of fossil fuel price spikes. Though federal energy policy has been asleep at the wheel, policy makers in some states are filling the gap.

More Energy Storage For New York State

California sucks up a lot of the media attention over the energy transition, so it’s worth turning a spotlight on other states, too. New York, for example, has been developing a robust renewable energy profile despite recent interference from the current crop of federal policy makers. With more wind and solar power on the grid, the New York market has also become ripe for picking by the energy storage industry.

In the latest news, the leading US solar, storage, and energy management firm FranklinWH Energy Storage reminds New Yorkers that its home battery system can qualify homeowners for approximately $3,000 in incentives to offset the initial cost of the system. Homeowners with a battery can also save about $200 per year, by participating in utility demand-response programs during peak months for electricity use in the state, from May through September.

“The incentives are available through virtual power plant (VPP) programs offered by National Grid’s ConnectedSolutions and Orange & Rockland Utilities’ Smart Savers Battery Program,” Franklin explains, adding that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority also provides for incentives of about $3,000 up front.

For those of you new to the topic, virtual power plants are made possible by modern grid software that enables utilities to coordinate demand and supply among thousands of small, far-flung devices such as thermostats, rooftop solar panels and hot water heaters in addition to home energy storage systems. VPPs can help utilities take advantage of low wholesale prices and avoid building costly new gas “peaker” plants, which explains why ratepayers get rewarded for participating.

Keep an eye on New York for more renewable energy activity in other sectors, too. In addition to its wind and solar portfolios, the state has partnered with Canada on a new $4 billion hydropower transmission project, from Lake Champlain all the way down to New York City.

Meanwhile, Over In New Jersey…

New Jersey has suffered a series of disappointing blows in the offshore wind area. However, the state has racked up an outsized record on solar power, considering its small land mass and densely developed profile.

That combination of size and density has made New Jersey a tempting market for stakeholders in the emerging floating solar industry, where solar panels can be sited on reservoirs and other water infrastructure without taking up space on land. Though large-scale floating solar arrays are becoming commonplace elsewhere around the world, at the present time New Jersey leads the US with the nation’s largest floating solar power plant, an 8.9-megawatt array located on a reservoir in Essex County.

New Jersey is now poised to beat its own record, with a 10-megawatt floating solar array at the Wanaque Reservoir in Passaic County. The proposal first surfaced in 2024 but was turned down by the state’s Board of Public Utilities, which cited environmental concerns in the sensitive Highlands region.

Those concerns were allayed upon review. Earlier this month, BPU approved an incentive grant for the new solar power plant, to be constructed under the wing of the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission.

BPU also approved two solar other arrays for competitive grants, totaling 14.1 megawatts in Gloucester County. That’s just for starters. The trio of grant approvals was part of a larger renewable energy and storage incentive package aimed at buffering New Jersey ratepayers from high electricity costs.

In the same package, BPU approved three new storage projects that are estimated to achieve $169 million in lifetime savings, by helping to keep rates down during peak demand periods.

In addition, BPU approved a 3-gigawatt expansion of New Jersey’s fast-growing community solar program, with a focus on repurposing landfills for renewable energy and storage. “The expansion is expected to move New Jersey from seventh in the nation into the top tier for community solar deployment,” BPU notes.

According to BPU, the state’s community solar program has already enlisted more than 37,000 subscribers, who have collectively achieved more than $70 million in credits to electricity bills and $14 millon in net savings.

More Renewable Energy For Massachusetts, One Way Or Another

Massachusetts is somewhat more successful in the offshore wind department than New Jersey. The state’s 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project survived the Trump chopper earlier this year and is steaming towards completion. In addition, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has hobnobbed with officials in Nova Scotia to collaborate on other offshore wind projects in the North Atlantic, beyond the reach of the US Department of the Interior.

On March 16, Healey also signed Executive Order 654, which calls for 10 gigawatts in new supply- and demand-side capacity as well as 5 gigawatts of storage by 2035. “The 10 GW target includes 4 GW of new in-state solar and 3.5 GW of new electric demand reduction to be achieved through load management strategies such as energy efficiency, virtual power plants, and electric vehicle charging management,” Healey’s office explains.

A study commissioned by the Solar Energy Industries Association indicates that Massachusetts ratepayers can save more the $313 million per year by 2030 if the state continues to make progress on solar and storage alone. EO 654 aims to overshoot that mark by casting a wide net over the renewable energy field including wind, geothermal, and hydropower as well as solar and storage, ultimately achieving $10 billion in savings.

Natural gas and nuclear energy also get a mention in EO 654, though neither resource is a particularly effective strategy for cutting utility bills. “Natural gas is the single largest and most unpredictable driver of electricity costs,” SEIA noted on January 23, when it posted the results of its study.

For the record, as of March 10 the US Energy Information Administration anticipated that Trump’s war in Iran will not have a significant impact on the cost of natural gas in the US, partly because the nation’s export capacity is already tapped out. Still, other factors — such as cold weather — can cause prices to spike upwards, as EIA noted earlier this year.

Photo (cropped): Despite the sharp U-turn in federal energy policy, US states continue to push the renewable energy transition with energy storage incentives and virtual power plants as well as new wind and solar projects (courtesy of FranklinWH Storage).