New York’s state-owned power company just concluded a series of public hearings on plans to build 40 major renewable energy projects, which environmentalists said was woefully inadequate and derided as falling short of legally enshrined climate goals.The New York Power Authority’s proposal includes 32 solar projects, a wind farm and seven battery storage systems, which are projected to create 3.5 gigawatts of electricity. But a report by the Public Power New York Coalition found that those proposals are insufficient and that, at minimum, the state needs to fill a 15 gigawatt “gap” to meet its goal of 70% clean power by 2030. That goal was set in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which the report described as “among the most aggressive in the country.”“It is wildly inadequate,” said Michael Paulson, co-chair of the Public Power New York Coalition. “It’s simply not doing enough and not fast enough, especially in the context of the incoming [Trump] administration that is going to launch an all out assault on renewable energy around the country.”The power authority and Gov. Kathy Hochul are facing mounting pressure to do more. Last week, 40 state lawmakers urged NYPA and Hochul in a letter to commit to renewable energy projects that would produce 15 gigawatts. Advocates are also calling on Hochul to distribute the projects more evenly. Very few of them are planned in the Hudson Valley and the New York City metro area, where demand for electricity is highest. The debate is the latest example of tensions between environmental activists and Hochul, who often touts her climate record.“In line with our continued commitment to advancing projects that most benefit New Yorkers, NYPA has and will continue to prioritize projects that meet the technical, economic, environmental and environmental justice needs in the state, reducing costs for ratepayers and maximizing the impact of every dollar spent,” NYPA spokesperson Lindsay Kryzak said in an email. “We can — and plan to — issue updates to the plan with more projects as they become mature enough for inclusion.”The power authority says it’s pursuing the 40 projects as a way to address the sluggish pace of private developers who often drop projects.NYPA estimated the attrition rates are as high as 85% for projects in the early stages and 60% for projects that are further along. Paulson said developers are ditching projects at such rates because they determine they won’t yield sufficient profit.“Over the last few years, there’s been a devastating rate of cancellation for private projects precisely because they have made the calculation this is not enough return on investment to our shareholders and they are legally obligated to their shareholders, not to the people of New York, not to the climate,” Paulson said.NYPA was empowered legally by the Build Public Renewables Act, a 2023 law meant to address the state’s lagging renewable energy goals. This
Lun. Dic 23rd, 2024
