New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which oversees the state's wholesale electric markets, plans to reduce wasted energy from New York's grid with the addition of new battery and flywheel technologies. 

Flywheels are mechanical batteries that act as generators.  They draw power from the grid by spinning at over 20,000 revolutions per minute, and then store this energy, explains the Times Union. When the grid needs energy, the systems can send it back. 

These new technologies, known as limited energy storage resources (LESR), importantly "regulate" or balance electrical supply and demand on the grid.  In a recent news release, NYISO President and CEO Stephen G. Whitley explained that LESR are "ideal for responding to the moment-to-moment adjustments needed to operate the bulk electricity grid."

Although electricity regulation service is currently performed by fossil-fuel plants, flywheels and other technologies could also enhance the efficiency of electricity provided by renewable and nonpolluting sources.  For example, they could balance the challenging variances in output from wind generation. 

The 20-megawatt flywheel project would be housed in an enclosed facility in Stephentown, Rensselaer County.

For the project to go forward, NYISO must receive approval of a new set of rules and regulations from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).  It hopes to receive approval by mid-May of this year.