The Enel X Gateway Center Project in Brooklyn
Enel X is synonymous with technological innovation. There was only one answer when Related Companies, the US real estate firm that operates worldwide, turned to us with a new challenge: to develop the largest battery energy storage system in New York City. The system in question is a “front-of-the-meter” lithium ion battery with a capacity of 4.8 MW/16.4 MWh installed at the Gateway Center in Brooklyn. The goal is to support the local New York grid operator Con Edison during peaks in demand, thereby contributing to maintaining reliable service.
New York is a complex, densely populated market in continuous growth, which requires innovative technologies to address evolving energy challenges. Storage systems, like this one, are among the critical tools that can help take on these challenges, by increasing energy systems’ flexibility and stability.
CEO of Enel X
A Virtuous Partnership
Con Edison chose Enel X through the Brooklyn-Queens Neighborhood Program. It supports consumers in a journey of energy awareness, helping them not only to optimize consumption but also to learn how to consume more effectively with sustainable solutions, such as energy storage with battery systems. The project developed at the Gateway Center has enabled Con Edison to avoid carrying out costly modernization work on existing infrastructure, opting instead for the installation of a storage system connected directly to the local electricity network.
The agreement with Related Companies includes a leasing contract, which substantially simplifies this type of sustainability-oriented real estate project. A virtuous partnership that can be used as a model for other commercial real estate projects in New York State, where real estate companies are becoming essential stakeholders.
Other Enel X Projects in New York
In 2018, the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, announced an important national goal: to implement 3,000 MW of stored energy by 2030 in order to create a cleaner, more flexible and reliable energy grid. Enel X has 16 active energy storage projects in New York City, including a solar microgrid with an integrated storage system in the Marcus Garvey Apartments in Brooklyn, which provides storage and Demand Response services to various properties in the luxury real estate sector.
Enel X Innovation Reduces Emissions
So far the Gateway Center project has provided the local electricity grid with more than 100 MWh of electricity from the storage system, offering support during periods of higher energy demand. The system also has a green dimension in that it helps to reduce emissions by limiting the demand for electric energy generated by coal-fired power stations during peaks in demand. The lithium ion battery system is also designed to satisfy the rigorous security criteria stipulated by the New York City Fire Department, as well as the very highest quality standards.
As with all energy storage projects developed by Enel X, those at the Gateway Center in Brooklyn also uses our Distributed Energy Resources (DER) optimization software, which offers exclusive functionalities to maximize potential earnings through a variety of options. Thanks to the technological innovation of Enel X storage systems, the city that never sleeps can rest assured that it won’t run short of energy.