Relates to qualified energy storage systems; authorizes energy storage permitting under the office of renewable energy siting and electric transmission.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8378
SPONSOR: Levenberg TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law and the labor law, in relation to
qualified energy storage systems
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to expand the tools available to the
Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) to include applications for the
siting of Qualified Energy Storage facilities across New York State to
reduce emissions from older, highly polluting plants and ensure New York
State meets its 100% renewable energy goals.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subdivision 1-a of section 66-r of article four of the
Public Service Law to add a definition for qualified energy storage
systems.
Section 2: Subdivision 4 of section 137 of the Public Service Law is
amended by adding the definition for qualified energy storage systems.
Section 3: Subdivision 5 of section 140 of the Public Service Law is
amended and a new subdivision six is added.
*(c) is added to subdivision 5 of section 140 and reads as follows: to
an energy storage system constructed in a city with a population of one
million or more.
*Subdivision 6 is added that states that after the effective date of
this paragraph, any person intending to construct a major renewable
energy facility excluded from this section may elect to become subject
to the provisions of this section by filing an application for a major
renewable energy facility siting permit pursuant to ORES regulations.
Section 4: Paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 145 of article
eight of the Public Service Law is amended by adding a minimum fee of
twenty-five thousand dollars and a maximum fee of one hundred thousand
dollars for any proposed energy storage facility's siting permit appli-
cation.
Section 5: Amends subdivision one of section 224-d of article eight of
the Labor Law to add a definition for qualified energy storage systems.
Section 6: Establishes the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Not application at this time.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State set highly ambitious climate and renewable energy goals
through the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and
Roadmap for Energy Storage. This bill would allow the State to move
towards its stated goal of 6GW energy storage by 2030 by allowing the
Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) to streamline the environmental
review and permitting of major energy storage projects. Energy storage
systems can integrate large quantities of renewable energy and store
renewables for when they are needed most, allowing our power grid to
operate more efficiently.
Currently, the process for energy storage permitting varies across local
jurisdictions. This inconsistency discourages storage deployment, ulti-
mately slowing our State's clean energy progress. NYSERDA published a
"Battery Energy Storage System Model Permit" to help local governments
establish standard permitting requirements, but this is not being
enforced consistently. ORES already allows for a coordinated review of
siting permit applications for renewable energy generators. By allowing
the same process for energy storage facilities, we can reduce investment
and development risk for these sites.
Many local jurisdictions also lack the personnel, funding, and/or exper-
tise to appropriately handle energy storage permitting applications and
safety reviews. Therefore, over 100 areas imposed local moratoria on
energy storage, but continued extensions have impacted at least 1,067 MW
of energy storage projects. Under ORES' purview, energy storage plans
can be evaluated at the highest safety levels throughout their design,
installation, and operation and in conjunction with the New York State
Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is new legislation.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:;
There are no fiscal implications associated with the passage of this
legislation.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to sections 137,
140, and 145 of the public service law made by sections two, three, and
four of this act shall not affect the repeal of such sections and shall
be deemed to be repealed therewith. Effective immediately, the addition,
amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be
made and completed on or before such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8378
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LEVENBERG -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Energy
AN ACT to amend the public service law and the labor law, in relation to
qualified energy storage systems
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1-a of section 66-r of the public service law,
2 as amended by section 32 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 1-a. For the purposes of this section, an "other covered project"
5 means: (a) any "thermal energy network" as defined by subdivision twen-
6 ty-nine of section two of this chapter; (b) any offshore wind supply
7 chain project, including but not limited to port infrastructure, primary
8 component manufacturing, finished component manufacturing, subassembly
9 manufacturing, subcomponent manufacturing, or raw material producers, or
10 a combination thereof receiving direct funding from the New York state
11 energy research and development authority pursuant to an award under a
12 New York state energy research and development authority solicitation;
13 [or] (c) a "major utility transmission facility" as such term is defined
14 by section one hundred twenty of this chapter or "major electric trans-
15 mission facility" as defined by article VIII of this chapter; or (d) any
16 qualified energy storage system, as such term is defined in subdivision
17 one of section seventy-four of this article, with a nameplate capacity
18 of twenty-five thousand kilowatts or more and interconnected to the
19 state's electricity grid.
20 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 137 of the public service law, as added
21 by section 11 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is amended to
22 read as follows:
23 4. "Major renewable energy facility" means any renewable energy
24 system, as such term is defined in section sixty-six-p of this chapter,
25 with a nameplate generating capacity of twenty-five thousand kilowatts
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09637-01-5
A. 8378 2
1 or more, [and] any co-located system storing energy generated from such
2 a renewable energy system prior to delivering it to the bulk trans-
3 mission system, or any qualified energy storage system, as such term is
4 defined in subdivision one of section seventy-four of this chapter, with
5 a nameplate capacity of twenty-five thousand kilowatts or more and
6 interconnected to the state's electricity grid, including all associated
7 appurtenances to electric plants, including electric transmission facil-
8 ities less than ten miles in length in order to provide access to load
9 and to integrate such facilities into the state's bulk electric trans-
10 mission system.
11 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 140 of the public service law, as added
12 by section 11 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is amended
13 and a new subdivision six is added to read as follows:
14 5. This section shall not apply:
15 (a) to normal repairs, maintenance, replacements, non-material modifi-
16 cations and improvements of a major renewable energy facility subject to
17 this article, whenever built, which are performed in the ordinary course
18 of business and which do not constitute a violation of any applicable
19 existing permit; [and]
20 (b) to a major renewable energy facility if, on or before [the effec-
21 tive date of this article] December 31, 2025, an application has been
22 made or granted for a license, permit, certificate, consent or approval
23 from any federal, state or local commission, agency, board or regulatory
24 body[.]; and
25 (c) to an energy storage system constructed in a city with a popu-
26 lation of one million or more.
27 6. After the effective date of this paragraph, any person intending to
28 construct a major renewable energy facility excluded from this section
29 pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision five of this section may elect
30 to become subject to the provisions of this section by filing an appli-
31 cation for a major renewable energy facility siting permit pursuant to
32 the regulations of ORES governing such applications.
33 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 145 of the public
34 service law, as added by section 11 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws
35 of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
36 (a) for a major renewable energy facility, one thousand dollars for
37 each thousand kilowatts of capacity of the proposed major renewable
38 energy facility, with a minimum fee of twenty-five thousand dollars and
39 a maximum fee of one hundred thousand dollars for any proposed energy
40 storage facility;
41 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 224-d of the labor law, as amended by
42 section 31 of part O of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is amended to
43 read as follows:
44 1. For purposes of this section, a "covered renewable energy system"
45 means (a) a renewable energy system, as such term is defined in section
46 sixty-six-p of the public service law, with a capacity of one or more
47 megawatts alternating current and which involves the procurement of
48 renewable energy credits by a public entity, or a company or corporation
49 provided in subdivisions twenty-three and twenty-four of section two of
50 the public service law, or a third party acting on behalf and for the
51 benefit of a public entity; (b) any "thermal energy network" as defined
52 by subdivision twenty-nine of section two of the public service law; (c)
53 any offshore wind supply chain project, including but not limited to
54 port infrastructure, primary component manufacturing, finished component
55 manufacturing, subassembly manufacturing, subcomponent manufacturing, or
56 raw material producers, or a combination thereof receiving direct fund-
A. 8378 3
1 ing from the New York state energy research and development authority
2 pursuant to an award under a New York state energy research and develop-
3 ment authority solicitation; [or] (d) a "major utility transmission
4 facility" as such term is defined by section one hundred twenty of the
5 public service law; or (e) any qualified energy storage system, as such
6 term is defined in subdivision one of section seventy-four of the public
7 service law, with a nameplate capacity of twenty-five thousand kilowatts
8 or more and interconnected to the state's electricity grid.
9 § 6. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
10 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to sections
11 137, 140, and 145 of the public service law made by sections two, three
12 and four of this act shall not affect the repeal of such sections and
13 shall be deemed to be repealed therewith. Effective immediately, the
14 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
15 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
16 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
