The New York Power Authority (NYPA) said it would join forces with a coalition of alternative energy interests to assess how to transition natural gas-fired “peaker” plants in the nation’s largest city to low-carbon battery storage.

Peaker Plant

The partnership between the public utility and the five groups that make up the Peak Coalition, which is pushing to limit (CO2) emissions and improve air quality in the Empire State, will focus on six sites in New York City and another on neighboring Long Island with a total capacity of 461 MW.

NYPA’s natural gas peaker plants, used in periods of peak electricity demand, which is roughly 10% of the time, were installed in 2001 to ensure local power reliability. NYPA said advances in technology since then make it possible to transition these...