NEW YORK — NineDot Energy®, a leading developer of community-scale battery energy storage systems in the New York City metro region, has closed a $431 million debt financing led by Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking to fund the construction of 28 battery storage projects totaling 124 MW / 494 MWh. The portfolio is designed to supply power for more than 100,000 New York City households during periods of peak summer demand.
The new funding supports projects within NineDot’s pipeline of more than 60 developments and comes in addition to sites already operating across the city.
“With this financing, NineDot has raised more than one billion dollars to bring community battery storage to the NYC metro area,” said David Arfin, NineDot Energy CEO and Co-founder. “This milestone shows the commitment, understanding and urgency another leading financial institution sees in deploying batteries on the urban grid. Industry forecasters continue to sound the alarm about the inexorable increase in electricity usage, from the growth of electric transportation, to data centers, to changing weather patterns. By optimizing how we use energy and manage the grid, battery storage will play a critical part in meeting these demands.”
The financing package includes a construction-to-term loan facility, a tax-credit-transfer bridge loan, and a letter-of-credit facility. NineDot expects the projects to reach commercial operation on a rolling schedule through the end of 2027.
NineDot emphasized that the projects will rely heavily on New York-based construction and maintenance teams, engaging a broad network of skilled contractors and technical specialists. The company estimates that this portfolio, together with other developments underway, will generate more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs and produce nearly $3.5 billion in economic output over the projects’ lifetimes.
All 28 sites are enrolled in New York’s Statewide Solar for All (S-SFA) program, which channels a portion of project revenues into bill credits for low-income households in disadvantaged communities. Customers enrolled in energy-assistance programs will begin receiving automatic credits in 2026.
NineDot projects currently in the program — including those backed by the Natixis financing — are expected to contribute over $60 million to the S-SFA savings pool over the next decade.
“We’re exceedingly pleased to have worked with NineDot Energy on this impactful financing,” said Jim Kaiser, Head of Infrastructure and Energy, North America at Natixis CIB. “Natixis CIB is an innovative financial institution, well-positioned to support the grid modernization that NineDot has accomplished here.”
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are increasingly viewed as a tool to curb reliance on high-emissions “peaker” plants that operate during times of heavy demand. These facilities have been linked to asthma and other health concerns in urban neighborhoods.
NineDot noted that BESS can help integrate renewable power such as solar and wind while delivering electricity to stressed areas of the grid. A single 5 MW installation can power about 5,000 households for four hours on a hot summer day; the new portfolio will be capable of supporting over 100,000 households in similar conditions.
The company is working toward a target of 400 MW of battery storage in operation, construction or development by the end of 2026. NineDot currently operates seven projects at four locations in Staten Island and the Bronx, with additional sites expected online ahead of summer 2026. According to public interconnection data, the firm holds one of the largest mature community battery pipelines in Con Edison territory.
The financing represents one of the largest single investments to date in urban battery storage on the East Coast and underscores growing confidence among global lenders in distributed energy infrastructure. As electricity demand rises due to electrified transportation, building decarbonization and AI-driven data centers, New York utilities have warned that localized grid constraints could intensify without new flexible resources.
Community-scale batteries are designed to be sited close to load centers, reducing the need for costly transmission upgrades. Advocates say this approach can lower system-wide costs while improving reliability in neighborhoods historically overburdened by fossil-fuel generation.
NineDot is also exploring mobile battery deployments and electric-vehicle charging integration, signaling a broader strategy beyond stationary storage. The company, headquartered at NYU’s Urban Future Lab in Brooklyn, plans to evaluate expansion into other metropolitan markets after 2026.
Originally reported by Nine Dot Energy in Business Wire.
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