Long Island NYPA Renewables Public Comment Session 1

Start: Monday, November 25, 2024• 1:00 PM

End: Monday, November 25, 2024• 3:00 PM

Location:Suffolk County Community College•1001 Crooked Hill Road, Brentwood, NY 11717 US

As we face unprecedented hurricanes and climate devastation across the globe, New York State is falling far behind on our climate goals mandated by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019. To solve this problem, New Yorkers passed the Build Public Renewables Act, which directs the New York Power Authority to build enough public renewables to ensure that we meet the CLCPA targets of 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and 100% by 2040.

The New York Power Authority (NYPA)’s draft strategic plan for renewables is unacceptable as it proposes to build only 3.5 GW – nowhere near the capacity needed to meet CLCPA goals. Moreover, by NYPA’s own admission, it is likely that the majority of these projects will never get built.

That's why we need you to attend NYPA's legally mandated public comment hearing to demand they build 15GW of renewable energy and deliver green jobs, reduced pollution and community benefits directly to you!

To meet CLCPA goals, NYPA must lead the way and build at least 15 GW of renewable energy by 2030, in line with the demands of the NY State AFL-CIO, the Building Trades Council, and thousands of New Yorkers who have sent letters to NYPA leadership.

Beyond total capacity to be built, the draft strategic plan falls short in a number of crucial areas:
  • There are very few projects planned for the Hudson Valley and downstate New York, where electricity demand is greatest. Communities in these areas deserve to benefit from reduced pollution, green jobs, and reduced utility bills via the REACH program.
  • There is no detailed plan for shutting down NYPA’s peaker plants by 2030 as required by law. Peaker plants are a public health disaster for host communities, which are already heavily burdened by other polluting infrastructure.
  • Less than 6% of proposed capacity is to be sited on public land or institutions. Public institutions throughout New York would benefit from decarbonization through NYPA renewables and related retrofits.

  • The draft plan does not incorporate feedback from important labor organizations through the conferral process. The AFL-CIO and Building Trades Council, who together represent 2.5 million workers in New York State, call for a buildout of 15 GW by 2030. IBEW, which represents workers directly impacted by our energy transition, calls for a large-scale buildout to guarantee job stability in the future for its members.

  • In its assessment of NYPA’s financial situation, the draft does not consider the Authority’s economic development operations, which currently provide massive energy discounts to multinational corporations like Citibank, Amazon, and Lockheed Martin. Some of these discounts could be redirected to capitalize renewable energy projects and reduce your skyrocketing energy bills.

  • While the draft plan indicates an intention to partner with communities to develop distributed energy resources, there are no plans or timelines for these projects. Communities should not have to wait for a revised plan a year from now to benefit from distributed energy projects.
  • There is insufficient information about proposed projects. The draft plan does not indicate precisely where projects will be sited or what they are estimated to cost. Without this information it is not possible to provide complete feedback on the plan, including its financial assumptions, business strategy, and impact on communities hosting projects.
To address the above shortcomings in the draft strategic plan and win the green future you, your coworkers and community deserve, you need to urge NYPA to make the following revisions:

  • Increase the total planned capacity to at least 15 GW
  • Plan additional projects in conjunction with public institutions such as the State University of New York and the City University of New York.
  • Ensure that enough capacity is built to create and sustain a pipeline of green union jobs for New Yorkers
  • Redirect economic development funds from large corporations and towards renewable energy development.  
  • Add public hearings in Central New York, the North Country, and the four other boroughs of New York City
  • Include a detailed plan for phaseout of NYPA’s peaker plants
  • Plan at least 5 GW for the Hudson Valley and downstate New York, with more attention to distributed energy resources