Energy Storage Paired with DCFC Infrastructure: Orange and Rockland Utilities

Orange & Rockland Utilities (ORU) seeks partners to collaboratively design and implement a demonstration project that will involve the deployment of energy storage with DC fast charging (DCFC) infrastructure with a goal of reducing overall developer costs.

Currently, demand charges are a hurdle to the deployment of DCFC infrastructure. Pairing energy storage with DCFC infrastructure has the potential to decrease costs. Partnering with ORU to pair energy storage with DCFC infrastructure would allow developers to decrease operational costs, site charging infrastructure in areas where the impacts to the grid are the lowest and provide an opportunity to test vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications.

Optimal locations of DCFC stations will be determined through collaboration with selected market partner and community stakeholders, though ORU requests market providers to make recommendations in their submittals.

The primary goal of this opportunity is to collect information that will inform the design of a future demonstration project, in which energy storage will be paired with DCFC infrastructure. The objective of the ultimate project will be to reduce DCFC developer costs, minimize EV owner charging costs, and increase the adoption of EVs in ORU’s service territory. Secondary goals include siting infrastructure to minimize distribution system impact, and testing V2G functionality to provide distribution system benefits.

Target customers include EV owners (both current and prospective) seeking public DCFC options (i.e., non-residential).

ORU expects to partner with developers focused on deploying DCFC infrastructure, and/or firms which offer charging and discharging management solutions. The ultimate goal is to co-design a demonstration project that will involve the use of storage paired with DCFC.

The proposed partnerships should also include the following elements:

• Business models that will animate the market for DC fast charging infrastructure;
• Collaboration between ORU and market partners on identification of ideal sites for DC fast chargers.
• Third party investment.

ORU expects potential solutions to combine both the development of DCFC infrastructure, and the definition of operational models that optimize charging to minimize the costs for the DCFC users.

Proposals should be both replicable and scalable across the targeted customer segment. Respondents should identify the long-term value of the proposed solution to ORU customers, the third-party partner, and ORU.

This effort will address the following REV Objectives:

1. enable new energy markets and leverage ratepayer contributions,
2. improve system-wide efficiency, and
3. reduce carbon emissions.