NineDot Energy to provide over $60M in energy credits for low-income households in the next decade

METROTECH — NineDot Energy, a leading developer of community-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the New York City metro area, has announced its participation in the New York Statewide Solar for All (S-SFA) program.

SFA is an innovative initiative that generates funds for households needing assistance to pay their energy bills. NineDot expects to generate over $60 million in energy credits for low-income New Yorkers within one decade. 

NineDot Energy is part of the Metrotech campus of NYU’s Urban Future Lab.

The New York Public Service Commission adopted the S-SFA program in May 2024 as a streamlined way to share the financial benefits of community solar and storage projects with utility customers enrolled in energy affordability programs.

Despite its name, the S-SFA program also includes the participation of community-scale battery projects, greatly expanding future savings for energy-burdened NYC households.

“New Yorkers are facing an affordability crisis, and energy storage can help alleviate that,” said David Arfin, NineDot Energy CEO and Co-founder.

“In addition to making the grid cleaner and more resilient, our urban energy projects help with energy affordability and advance environmental justice where we live and work. Through the S-SFA program, we expect our growing pipeline of grid-connected batteries to contribute over $60 million in bill savings over the next decade for lower-income households, while also expediting the retirement of dirty peaker plants that belch pollution in predominantly lower-income and historically marginalized communities.”

Projects enrolled in the S-SFA program will contribute a percentage of revenues generated from energy exports to the grid to an S-SFA savings pool that is distributed annually to utility EAP customers who also reside in a disadvantaged community.

Those households will automatically receive a credit on their energy bills from this program beginning in 2026. The more projects that come online and enroll in S-SFA, the larger the EAP savings pool will be.

(Note: New York’s S-SFA program is wholly separate and not at all related to the now-terminated federal program of a similar name.)

NineDot Energy has already enrolled more than 60 current and future projects, representing over 300 MW, in the S-SFA program. Some of these projects are now generating revenue and, therefore, funds for the EAP savings pool.

The $60 million figure is based on the estimated operating schedules of this pipeline.

NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “NYSERDA is proud of the savings that the Statewide Solar For All program is providing to New Yorkers who need it most. By including battery storage projects among eligible technologies in this program, we’re demonstrating how a diverse mix of resources can bring reliable and more affordable energy to neighborhoods all across our state.”

Energy storage also makes our communities cleaner and healthier. BESS can reduce reliance on high-emissions “peaker” plants, outdated facilities that have been found to cause asthma and other illnesses.

BESS will help maximize our use of carbon-free, intermittent sources of energy like solar and wind. And at times of peak demand, like hot summer afternoons, BESS also helps deliver energy where it’s needed most to protect New Yorkers’ health, keeping lights on and air conditioners running in neighborhoods where the grid is under strain.

For example, one 5 MW site is able to power about 5,000 NYC households for four hours on a hot summer day when the electric grid is under stress.

“We need more innovative ways to help New Yorkers who are struggling to pay energy bills,” said Elijah Hutchinson, Executive Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice.

“Achieving a just energy transition and the retirement of old, dirty, peaker plants isn’t done in isolation. Rather, it requires a combination of financing programs, like Statewide Solar For All, and infrastructure upgrades, like battery storage, all while centering the safety and well-being of New Yorkers.”

NineDot Energy is projected to have 400MW of battery storage in operation, construction or development by the end of 2026. It currently has seven operating projects at four locations in Staten Island and the Bronx.

Additional projects are expected to come online in the coming months throughout the city in time to support the community during the summer of 2026.

Based on public interconnection queue data, NineDot’s portfolio of mature community battery storage projects is second to none in ConEd’s New York territory.

About NineDot Energy

NineDot Energy is the leading community-scale battery storage developer and operator in the New York City metropolitan region. It creates innovative urban energy solutions that support a more resilient and affordable grid, reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental equity.

Overall, NineDot’s solutions make New York a cleaner, safer and healthier place to live, work and visit.

NineDot is also expanding beyond stationary storage to incorporate mobile batteries and electric vehicle charging into some of our current and future sites.

NineDot Energy’s name derives from the classic mathematical puzzle for sparking out-of-the-box solutions. We are based in Brooklyn, New York, at NYU’s Urban Future Lab.