Brooklyn's NineDot is bringing cleaner energy to urban environments with unique projects — after filling out loads of paperwork first.
The bureaucratic hurdles are a costly, time-consuming quagmire, Inside Climate News reported. At the same time, New York's goal for its grid to be powered with 70% renewables is providing ample opportunity. NineDot is navigating the red tape to provide cleaner electricity on the neighborhood level.
"It doesn't take years to physically build the project. It just takes years to develop it because of all the checkpoints," Adam Cohen, one of the startup's founders, told ICN about the financing, permits, and legwork that needs to be completed first.
NineDot already has a solar and battery storage site in the Bronx that is providing power to parts of the community. A vehicle-to-grid pilot in Brooklyn is operational, allowing electric vehicle owners to feed extra juice from their rides back to the grid. Also in the Bronx, a fuel cell facility is making cleaner power. And battery storage projects on Long Island and Staten Island are in the works, all according to the company's website.
NineDot intends to provide electricity to tens of thousands of New York homes and businesses by the end of next year. Nearly $240 million in investments announced last year will help to power the work, per the business' leaders.
"New York City is a really important market — a really hard nut to crack," Cohen said.
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New York — the city and state — is active in clean energy. Supplier Con Edison added a sizable battery system in Staten Island in 2023. A former NYC power plant is set to be turned into a larger battery storage facility.
ICN reported that nearly 6,200 battery projects have been built since 2019. The Empire State's packs can store 445 megawatts. For reference, a megawatt can power up to 1,000 homes at a time, according to the New York Independent System Operator, which manages the grid.
President Donald Trump's spending bill will likely add more bureaucratic headaches to clean-energy development, particularly for wind and solar projects. Sunsetting tax credits is a part of the fossil-friendly energy plan. And the administration is already requiring more scrutiny of the work orders — all while power demand is expected to surge with rising data center use, according to The Guardian, Goldman Sachs, and Politico Pro.
But production is fruitful once the sites go online. NineDot's Staten Island battery projects can power 9,800 households for four hours, giving cleaner renewable electricity during evening high demand, ICN reported.
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Definitely 👍 These projects can reduce the need for nonrenewable-powered peaker plants. There are around 1,000 of these gas-fired facilities that operate only during demand surges.
"Like other power plants, peakers emit several pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide — which can lead to breathing problems. Peakers operate less often but have higher emission rates," all according to the Government Accountability Office.
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At NineDot, the red tape might thicken before it's removed amid federal policy changes. ICN reported that local governments sometimes add to the challenges with extra safety inspections and other hurdles. As a result, the sites need thorough inspections, Cohen told the outlet. The company plans to have 50 projects operating or in development inside of the next two years.
"We had a proof of concept and showed that the market worked," Cohen said.
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