NYISO's interconnection queue holds 18 GW of standalone BESS, down 12% year over year. The largest share of BESS, 3.8 GW, has applied to connect in Zone G. However, only 1.8 GW of BESS has reached agreement negotiations. All of it entered through the legacy queue, NYISO's serial process before cluster studies.

The 2026 cluster adds 6.8 GW of BESS and 2.9 GW of natural gas, the first gas in the cluster process. Two thirds of that gas connects to Zones J and K, New York City and Long Island. Batteries there earn a spread premium over the rest of the state.

Developers have withdrawn 75% of the BESS capacity requested in the 2024 cluster. The surviving 9 GW faces the Final Decision Period, where each request accepts its upgrade costs and posts security.

Key takeaways

• Zone G has the largest queued BESS pipeline at 3.8 GW, but all 465 MW under construction connects to Zone J.
• Only 1.8 GW of the 18 GW BESS queue has reached agreement negotiations or later, all of it in the legacy queue.
• BESS is 62% of the 2026 cluster's 11 GW, and natural gas enters the cluster process at 2.9 GW.
• Developers have withdrawn 75% of the 36 GW of BESS requested in the 2024 cluster, and 9 GW faces the Final Decision Period.
• A 2024 cluster BESS that withdraws in the Final Decision Period loses its eligibility for New York's second Index Storage Credit (ISC) round.

Zone G has 3.8 GW of queued BESS, but all construction connects to Zone J

Zone G, the Hudson Valley, has the largest queued standalone BESS pipeline at 3.8 GW. New York City, Zone J, follows at 3.4 GW, then Zone C at 2.9 GW and Zone K, Long Island, at 2.4 GW. Zones J and K hold 33% of the queued capacity.

All 465 MW of BESS listed under construction connects to Zone J, across five legacy requests. Developer target dates run from December 2026 to July 2027.

Only 1.8 GW of the 18 GW BESS queue has reached agreement negotiations or later

Only 1.8 GW of the 18 GW of standalone BESS in NYISO's queue has reached agreement negotiations or later. All of it is in the legacy queue: 722 MW with agreements in progress, 591 MW with completed agreements and 465 MW under construction.

The other 16 GW is in the two cluster studies. The 2024 cluster's 60 surviving requests, 9 GW, are in the Final Decision Period. The 2026 cluster's 35 requests, 6.8 GW, are in the Customer Engagement Window before study. None of the 2024 cluster can hold an agreement until its period closes.

BESS is 62% of the 2026 cluster, and natural gas enters at 27%

BESS makes up 6.8 GW, or 62%, of the 11 GW submitted to the 2026 cluster. Natural gas is second at 2.9 GW, or 27%, its first appearance in NYISO's cluster process. The 2024 cluster's largest fuel after BESS was offshore wind at 2.6 GW.

Two thirds of the 2026 cluster's natural gas, 1.9 GW, connects to Zones J and K through three repowerings. They are EF Barrett and Northport on Long Island, and the Gowanus gas turbines in Brooklyn. The 1.9 GW is the proposed capacity of the new units, and the net addition depends on how much each site retires.

If the repowerings raise net capacity at the evening peak, they could narrow the four-hour top-bottom (TB4) spread premium in Zones J and K.

Developers have withdrawn 75% of the BESS requested in the 2024 cluster

Developers have withdrawn 27 GW, or 75%, of the 36 GW of standalone BESS requested in the 2024 cluster since August 2024. The withdrawals cover 155 of 215 requests.

BESS withdrew less than the cluster as a whole. Across all fuels, developers withdrew 80% of the 75 GW requested, including 87% of solar and 84% of wind.

Of the 18 GW present in September 2025, 8.8 GW, or 49%, withdrew by September 2026. Five of the withdrawn requests, 920 MW, filed again in the 2026 cluster under the same names.

Developers have already withdrawn 12 of the 2026 cluster's 47 BESS requests, 1.6 GW, before study begins. Across all fuels, developers have withdrawn 31% of the 16 GW requested in the 2026 cluster.

The Final Decision Period is the next exit point for the surviving 9 GW.

What does this mean for new projects in the queue?

A 2024 cluster BESS must commit to its interconnection before it knows its revenue. The Final Decision Period, open now, asks each of the 60 surviving requests to accept its upgrade costs and post security. The next ISC solicitation, New York's bulk storage incentive, is set to open by the end of 2026. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority requires an active queue position to sign a contract, so a request that withdraws in this period is out of the round.

BESS without a contract relies on merchant revenue from the energy and capacity markets. The 2026 cluster's 1.9 GW of gas repowerings in Zones J and K could narrow the spread premium if they add net capacity. They would also compete in the Zone J and K capacity markets, where scarcity set record prices in summer 2026. They enter the queue two years behind the 2024 cluster.

New BESS requests wait longer still: the next cluster window opens in 2028 if the 2026 cluster follows the 2024 cluster's two-year study. The capacity closest to operation is the 1.1 GW with a completed agreement or under construction, 6% of the 18 GW queue.