Media & Publications

Albany, NY – Today, the NYISO published its 2021-2040 System and Resource Outlook (The Outlook) which sheds light on two important topics.

IPPNY, The Business Council of New York State, New York State AFL-CIO, and Building & Construction Trades Council Announce Realistic, Achievable Joint Roadmap to Meet CLCPA Goals

Thank you, Chair Paulin, Chair Cusick, and Chair Englebright for the opportunity to testify before you today. The topic of today’s hearing is examining the role of State authorities in facilitating the development of renewable energy to meet the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). When this hearing was first announced in June by Speaker Heastie, the purpose was to get additional public input about the Build Public Renewables Act, A.1466-D (Carroll) / S.6453-C (Parker), and to solicit testimony to help guide the development of a sound and sustainable approach to meeting the CLCPA’s goals.

Bill Would Unnecessarily Raise Costs for NYPA Ratepayers Without Helping the State Reach Its Renewable Goals Any Quicker

Albany, NY – With temperatures in New York City predicted to reach into the high nineties this week, the priority of all energy generators is making sure that New Yorkers keep the lights… and air conditioning on. Keeping an electricity grid reliable in a state with an evenly distributed population is a challenge and keeping a grid in New York City and Long Island reliable with the bottleneck in transmission lines is even more difficult. With a load forecast of just under 30,000 MW, making sure that there is enough electricity to meet this demand is essential.

We strongly oppose S.6453-C (Parker) / A.1466-D (Carroll). This legislation would, among other provisions, significantly expand the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) ability to acquire, develop, own, and operate existing and new renewable electric generating facilities and energy storage in this State. The bill is unnecessary and would undermine the current, successful model, which relies on renewable energy and energy storage companies - big and small - to develop these projects to meet New York's energy goals and the requirements of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and to grow the State’s clean energy economy. The legislation also would not provide revenues to local communities, as NYPA does not pay taxes.

We strongly oppose S.6453-C (Parker) similar to A.1466-C (Carroll). This legislation would, among other provisions, significantly expand the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) ability to acquire, develop, own, and operate existing and new renewable electric generating facilities and energy storage in this State. The bill is unnecessary and would undermine the current, successful model, which relies on renewable energy and energy storage companies - big and small - to develop these projects to meet New York's energy goals and the requirements of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and to grow the State’s clean energy economy. The legislation also would not provide revenues to local communities, as NYPA does not pay taxes.

We strongly oppose S.9426 (Parker) / A.10484 (Cusick). This bill would allow utility ownership of renewable generation, in contravention of over 25 years of New York State energy policy that shields electricity ratepayers from the risk of project development. Re-exposing ratepayers to this risk is not in the public interest, especially given already rising energy costs.

We strongly oppose A.1466-B (Carroll) / S.6453-A (Parker). This legislation would, among other provisions, significantly expand the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) ability to acquire, develop, own, and operate existing and new renewable electric generating facilities and energy storage in this State. The bill is unnecessary and would undermine the current, successful model, which relies on renewable energy and energy storage companies - big and small - to develop these projects to meet New York's energy goals and the requirements of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and to grow the State’s clean energy economy. The legislation also would not provide revenues to local communities, as NYPA does not pay taxes.

We strongly oppose S.8384 (Parker) / A.9531 (Cusick). This bill would allow utility ownership of renewable generation, in contravention of over 25 years of New York State energy policy that shields electricity ratepayers from the risk of project development. Re-exposing ratepayers to this risk is not in the public interest, especially given rising energy costs. Having utilities build renewables and charge the full cost to ratepayers will not help achieve the targets of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) any faster or cheaper, partly because utilities cannot get through the Renewable Energy Siting Law (Executive Law Section 94-c) process any quicker than private independent power producers (IPP), as everyone needs to follow the same requirements for environmental review.