On September 23, 2026, NYSERDA announced that it had contracted eight projects from its inaugural bulk energy storage solicitation. These storage projects total 950 MW and 4,360 MWh.

The solicitation drew 46 bids, totaling 6.3 GW and 30 GWh. NYSERDA contracted 15% of the capacity offered, consistent with its 1 GW target for the round.

Key takeaways

• Eight of 46 bids were awarded Index Storage Credit contracts. All eight winners use lithium-ion technology. None of the seven bids using other technologies were selected.
• NYISO Zones J and K took 54% of the awarded capacity. Zones D, E, F, and H received none, despite 14 bids totaling 2.1 GW.
• Five developers won contracts. GCI, Flatiron Energy, and Key Capture Energy were each awarded two, and Savion and Zenobē were each awarded one.
• Lighthouse Energy Storage is the only 8-hour battery to be awarded a contract. It initially bid in as a 4-hour project.
• Six winners are still in NYISO’s 2024 Transitional Cluster Study. Most target operation in 2030.

What is the Index Storage Credit?

The Index Storage Credit (ISC) works like a contract for difference. Each project bids a strike price, and NYSERDA pays the gap between that strike price and a zonal Reference Price. The Reference Price estimates what a storage project in that zone could earn in NYISO’s energy and capacity markets. If the Reference Price exceeds the strike price, the project pays NYSERDA.

Payments begin only once NYSERDA certifies a project as operational. Payments are settled monthly for up to 15 years for lithium-ion projects.

NYSERDA scores bids 60% on expected ISC payments and 40% on non-price factors. Across its three bulk storage rounds, it targets 30% of procured capacity in New York City (Zone J). Each round also targets 20% of procured capacity from projects with 8 or more hours of storage.

Eight lithium-ion projects won contracts

Lithium-ion projects made up 39 of the 46 bids. The other seven offered 1.26 GW of compressed air, compressed CO2, pumped hydro, and zinc batteries.

Zones J and K received over half the capacity

New York City (Zone J) projects won 256 MW, or 27% of the total, just below NYSERDA’s 30% target. Five Zone J projects bid, and NYSERDA selected two.

Long Island drew the most bids, 11 in total. Two won, adding 260 MW. Outside New York City and Long Island, Zones A, B, C, and G each received one project.

Zones D, E, F, and H received no awards. Their 14 bids included six of the seven non-lithium projects.

GCI and Flatiron converted most of their bids into awards

Five developers won contracts, but their success rates varied.

GCI won both of its bids, for 240 MW. Neoen, owned by Brookfield, co-bid the larger of the two, Lighthouse, and plans to own it. Flatiron Energy also bid selectively. It won two of its three New York City projects, both in the Bronx, while Battery Park Storage in Brooklyn was not selected.

Key Capture Energy bid more widely. It entered six projects totaling 674 MW and won two, for 244 MW. Savion, a Shell subsidiary, won one of its two Long Island bids. Zenobē won with its only bid.

Other large national developers submitted bids but were not awarded contracts. NextEra, Terra-Gen, Aypa Power, Origis Energy, and AES each entered at least two projects, and none received awards.

Lighthouse is the only 8-hour winner

Lighthouse bid as a 4-hour project. Its public bid summary describes a 250 MW / 1,000 MWh battery in Dunkirk (Zone A).

The contract NYSERDA signed is for a different configuration: 140 MW over 8 hours. That trades 44% of its power for 12% more storage, at 1,120 MWh.

Eight bids proposed 8-hour configurations at submission, and none were selected. Seven of them were not lithium-ion.

As a result, 8-hour projects make up 15% of contracted capacity, short of NYSERDA’s 20% target for the round.

When will these projects come online?

Holtsville and KCE NY 5 entered NYISO’s queue in 2019. Holtsville’s interconnection agreement is complete. KCE NY 5 has accepted its cost allocation, but its agreement is still in progress.

The other six are in the 2024 Transitional Cluster Study, now in its Final Decision Period. Interconnection agreements follow that stage.

Local permitting varies as well. KCE NY 37 has held full town permits since 2022, and Zenobē Burns has held town permits since early 2026. KCE NY 5, by contrast, has no local approvals yet. It sits on county-owned land in New Paltz, and in September 2026 Ulster County’s legislature delayed a vote on leading its environmental review.

Holtsville targets December 2028, the earliest date. However, Suffolk County’s health department denied it a required variance, and Savion is challenging that decision in court. Zenobē Burns follows in April 2029.

The remaining six target 2030. Both Bronx projects aim for December 2030, the program’s deadline.

What round one means for round two

NYSERDA plans to issue its second Bulk Energy Storage Request for Proposals by the end of 2026. Two annual rounds remain, with roughly 2 GW left to procure of the program’s 3 GW.

Duration is the clearest gap. The only 8-hour winner started as a 4-hour bid, leaving NYSERDA short of its 8+ hour target. Developers with sites that can support 8-hour lithium-ion look best placed next round.

Delivery is the open question. Seven of the eight winners still need interconnection agreements, and half target the final quarter of 2030. How many reach operation on time will shape how much later rounds must deliver toward New York’s 6 GW by 2030 storage goal.