Con Edison on Wednesday finished building a major battery storage system in Brownsville, designed to improve electric service for more than 350,000 customers in eastern Brooklyn and southwest Queens.
The new system can deliver 5.8 megawatts of power for four hours, helping to ease strain on the electric grid during peak demand in the summer, typically in the late afternoon and evening. It passed a thorough safety review by the city Fire Department and is now fully operational, the company said.
By placing the battery on existing substation property, the utility avoided purchasing new land, reducing costs and minimizing disruptions to nearby neighborhoods.
“We are using battery technology and other measures to help maintain our industry-leading reliable electric service in areas where our analysis shows the need for energy will grow,” said Matthew Ketschke, Con Edison’s president.
The battery will be charged overnight when electricity use is lower and energy is more affordable. Its capacity is enough to power 58,000 microwave ovens or 116,000 flat-screen TVs, or to charge over 1.1 million cellphones.
Neighborhoods expected to benefit include Crown Heights, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and East New York in Brooklyn, along with Howard Beach, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven in Queens.
The project is part of Con Edison’s broader push to modernize its grid amid a surge in electricity usage. The utility also operates a battery storage site in fox Hills, Staten Island and another in Ozone Park, Queens.
Additional pilot projects are underway on the North Shore of Staten Island, in Woodside, Queens, and on City Island in the Bronx.
