Connecticut battery scheme opens 100-MW tranche for C&I projects

The Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) programme in Connecticut is opening a 100-MW tranche for batteries in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector, the co-program administrators said on Wednesday.

This is the programme’s second C&I tranche and its capacity is double that of the first one. The new tranche is also being launched two years ahead of schedule due to strong demand from C&I customers.

The programme, approved by regulators and launched in 2022, offers upfront and performance-based incentives for battery deployments. It is administered by the Connecticut Green Bank, and the utilities Eversource and UI.

ESS has so far approved 46.4 MW/139.4 MWh of C&I energy storage systems.

The C&I tranche 1 includes 27 projects submitted by six developers at locations such as water treatment plants, manufacturing facilities, public schools and health clubs.

The residential portion of ESS has meanwhile gone past 1 MW of approved capacity.

“While the residential sector has progressed at a slower pace than C&I, we are confident that recent program changes approved by PURA [Public Utilities Regulatory Authority] and new investment as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, will spur interest and investment in the residential energy storage sector in 2023,” said Connecticut Green Bank head Bryan Garcia.

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