The following are past opportunities from utilities. While the utilities are not actively looking for solutions to these areas, REV Connect does accept submissions on any idea on an open-enrollment basis outside of the Innovation Sprints.
Utility Innovation Opportunities Archive
New York is looking for innovative solutions and partnerships to modernize its energy systemSummer 2021 Mini-Sprint
Smart Hybrid Heating and Cooling
National Fuel is seeking a smarter, customer-friendly residential hybrid heating and cooling system, with the ability to switch between gas and electric, as an element of its pathway to a low-carbon future by optimizing electric and natural gas loads and reducing residential natural gas consumption. The hybrid system should switch between fuel sources based on control signals ranging from, for example, ambient outdoor temperature, electric or gas system congestion, power interruption, gas interruption, and available incorporated alternative power sources.
National Grid is looking to learn more about potential demand side resources (Non-Pipeline Alternatives or NPAs) to address natural gas system constraints in its Downstate New York (DNY) service territory. This exercise excludes supply-side resources (e.g. hydrogen blending, renewable natural gas or compressed/liquefied natural gas). This process will inform an RFP yet to be released.
NYSEG and RG&E are seeking to establish a viable model for scaling turnkey fleet electrification services, including financing, vehicles, and charging infrastructure, for utilization by commercial fleet owners to accelerate electrification of fleets. Any steps toward simplifying fleet electrification, including by reducing upfront costs for customers and making operating expenses predictable, will be key to widespread vehicle electrification in New York State.
Due to Con Edison investments in AMI meters and Green Button Connect, all customers with an AMI meter are now eligible to participate in the Con Edison performance-based Rider T demand response programs with a minimum electricity use reduction commitment of 10 watts. There is now a need for third-party demand response aggregators to provide service to this newly enabled customer pool.
National Grid is seeking solutions to fill the gap between grid operation software tools and building management systems and/or building device control systems for use in a building-to-grid project. Participating buildings will primarily be single- and multistory multifamily residential, in addition to several commercial buildings such as grocery stores, gyms, and restaurants. The project plans to build around 2,000 net-zero, possibly all-electric, units over a period of 10 years.
Distributed Communications Project
National Grid is seeking economical alternatives to existing communications solutions to more closely integrate distributed energy resources (DERs) and distribution automation schemes, as well as facilitate DER participation in wholesale markets.
National Grid plans to introduce an Electric Vehicle (EV) managed charging program, which allows for off-peak charging of residential customer EVs at their residences for a fixed monthly charge, in Q4 2022. The company is seeking solutions that allow direct management of the timing or power level of charging, which could include vehicle telematics, charger-based approaches or other technologies to actively managed charging. The preferred solution would be implemented for the three-year duration of the proposed program.
EV Fast Charge System Optimization
New York Power Authority is interested in technology solutions and companion business models to limit distribution grid impacts of DCFC.
PSEG Long Island is seeking submissions offering a holistic package that can monitor and adjust building load based on price and dispatch signals, to be implemented initially as a pilot project. This pilot should demonstrate interoperability among a variety of devices from different manufacturers, thus simplifying communications and control signals between the utility and customer devices. Price and dispatch signals such as a time-of-use rate may initially be used to reduce peak demand and energy supply costs and could potentially be used to support more day-to-day load flexibility for a wider array of grid services. This pilot will help move PSEG Long Island toward its goal of evolving into a customer-centric distributed system platform.
Grid-Beneficial Customer Storage and Non-Wires Solutions
PSEG Long Island is seeking innovative business model approaches and providers to non-wires solutions (NWS) to help defer transmission and distribution infrastructure projects, particularly energy storage solutions that also help to achieve the Climate Act goal of 188 MW of storage on Long Island by 2025. Examples of potential solutions for these needs include community storage and customer-sited storage located on constrained circuits. The result of this effort we hope will allow us to identify more opportunities for solicitation for NWS by increasing the number of capital projects which screen as cost-effective for solicitation of potential NWS.
Grid-Interactive Efficiency Audit
NYPA seeks partners to support the development and implementation of grid-interactive efficiency audits (GEA), which go beyond traditional energy efficiency audits to include factors such as the temporal and locational value of energy to assess economic and carbon reduction potential. The solution may incorporate advanced data analytics to assess clean energy measures beyond energy conservation, to include energy supply options, energy storage, demand flexibility, on-site renewables, retro-commissioning and O&M, grid services, electrification, wholesale market interactions, and resiliency.
PSEG Long Island is seeking solutions to increase the hosting capacity of its distribution system. The utility is experiencing a rise in DER penetration and therefore would like to explore cost-effective technology and proven methods that can be implemented to increase hosting capacity on the distribution system.
AI-Based Controller for Storage Optimization
AVANGRID is seeking to collaboratively design, deploy, and test an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based controller to optimize the use of storage and the performance of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The controller will be used as an enhancement to the solution used in AVANGRID’s ongoing Integrated EV and Battery Storage REV Demonstration project.
Market-Based Solution to BTM Storage Operation
AVANGRID is seeking to collaboratively define and implement an innovative energy storage market solution to enhance one of AVANGRID’s ongoing REV Demonstration storage projects: Aggregated Behind-the-Meter (BTM) Battery Storage.
Demand Response with Storage Support
Central Hudson is seeking to collaboratively design and implement projects utilizing energy storage solutions to manage Demand Response (DR) program participant turnover within existing Non-Wires Alternative (NWA) projects. Projects would be located in the areas known as Central Hudson’s Targeted Demand Management areas.
Energy Storage to Manage Incremental Electric Demand Associated with Increasing Heat Pump Adoption
Central Hudson is seeking to collaboratively design and implement projects to use energy storage to manage incremental electric demand increases associated with heat pump adoption. As the technology utilization is expected to increase, there may be new opportunities to manage localized peak demands on the coldest days and energy storage is considered one of the technologies that may assist in that load management.
Energy Storage Education and Outreach
Orange & Rockland is seeking partners to support energy storage outreach and education, which targets an increase in awareness and adoption of energy storage in the Company’s service territory. The education and outreach program will expand ORU’s current offerings and seeks to inform consumers about key energy storage topics, including: the basic value proposition to each customer segment, ownership costs, environmental benefits, charging and discharging strategies, and available incentives.
Energy Storage Paired with DCFC Infrastructure
Orange & Rockland is seeking partners to collaboratively design and implement a demonstration project that will involve the deployment of energy storage with DC fast charging (DCFC) infrastructure with the goal 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.
Increase Participation in Storage Offering of Dynamic Load Management Tariff
PSEG Long Island is looking for unique business models or approaches to increase adoption of their Dynamic Load Management (DLM) tariff for behind-the-meter energy storage projects.
New Approaches for Storage as Viable Cost-Effective Measure for Customer-Sited NWA Solutions
PSEG Long Island is looking for market-based, cost-beneficial approaches for customer-sited energy storage projects for NWA applications.
New Approaches for Storage as Viable Cost-Effective Measure for Utility-Side Solutions
PSEG Long Island is looking for market-based, cost-beneficial approaches for utility side energy storage projects for an alternative approach to traditional utility solutions.
Easing Interconnection for Storage and Storage+DG
National Grid is seeking solutions that increase utility hosting capacity and/or reduce the time and cost required to interconnect Distributed Energy Resource (DER) systems, including storage-only and storage paired with distributed generation (DG), on the distribution network or located at a customer’s premises.
National Grid is seeking to develop solutions that will expand adoption of gas demand response (DR) across a variety of customer segments. The selection and scope of solutions will be determined based upon the technology, business model, and benefit-cost analysis. National Grid encourages market partners to propose innovative solutions for partnerships on gas DR.
Expanding EE and DSM for LMI Customers and Leveraging Third-Party Financing
Con Edison is looking for scalable methods to reach low-to-moderate income (LMI) customer segments with energy efficiency (EE) and demand side management (DSM) programs for both electric and gas.
Central Hudson is seeking to collaboratively design and implement Smart Community REV demonstration projects that center on the concepts of clean transportation, green building, carbon reduction and the proliferation of building automation, heat pump and or natural gas technologies.
Orange & Rockland seeks partners to support its electric vehicle (EV) education and outreach program, which targets an increase in awareness and adoption of EVs in the Company’s service territory.
Smart Cities Partnership Pilot
AVANGRID is seeking to collaboratively design and implement a smart cities initiative within its NYSEG or RG&E service areas. Through the Energy Smart Community (ESC) initiative in the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County many technology investments, data acquisition, and customer and market enablement that achieve key REV outcomes are being tested.
RFI for Non-Pipeline Alternatives
NYSEG plans to issue a RFI seeking innovative solutions to address natural gas reliability, demand, and/or supply in the Tompkins County region of the NYSEG service area.
Community Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Program
AVANGRID is interested in developing and deploying a holistic Community Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Program. This program may leverage NYSEG’s foundational Ithaca and Tompkins County Energy Smart Community investments, community engagement, and programs. Other communities will also be considered.
Subscribe to the REV Connect mailing list to receive updates as new Opportunities by Utility are posted