It’s time for New York to throttle-up on large-scale renewable energy projects.
Last week, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released the RFPs for a new round of expedited large-scale offshore wind and land-based renewable energy project solicitations. The solicitation was first announced by Governor Kathy Hochul on November 16.
These new solicitations will help New York reach the goals mandated in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the most progressive climate law in the nation. The CLCPA commits New York to producing 70 percent of its electricity through renewable energy by 2030 and 100 percent of its electricity, known as zero-net emissions, by 2040.
This latest solicitation couldn’t come soon enough.
In October, the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) voted to deny price adjustments essential to the feasibility of ongoing large-scale renewable energy construction projects, potentially slowing them down or causing their outright cancellation, because of unexpected economic changes, including supply chain issues and rising inflation.
According to the Governor’s office, projects that petitioned the PSC can participate in the current solicitation, but it “will also emphasize competition between these and other projects, ensuring the integrity of the process and best value for New York electricity consumers.”
After the PSC vote, NYLCV urged the administration to act quickly to minimize the damage, and expediting these solicitations – less than two months later – is an important step.
“In order for New York to green the grid and meet our climate goals, we can’t just talk about clean energy, we need to get projects in the queue as soon as possible,” said NYLCV President Julie Tighe. “We applaud Governor Hochul for expediting the next round of solicitations for offshore wind and land-based large scale renewable energy projects and helping ensure New York remains a national leader in the fight against climate change.”
This comes on the heels of Gov. Hochul’s announcement that New York State was making the largest state investment in renewable energy in U.S. history which called for three offshore wind and 22 land-based renewable energy projects, enough to power 2.6 million homes, equal to 12 percent of New York’s electricity needs once completed.
The results of the current solicitation should be known in February for offshore wind and in April for land-based projects. It is the seventh annual Renewable Energy Standard RFP and the fourth for offshore wind projects. New York currently has the largest queue of offshore wind projects in the nation, with more than 8,300 MW under contract.
“These are concrete and necessary steps towards achieving the clean energy future New York State needs,” said Tighe. “We applaud Gov. Hochul for her environmental leadership. It’s imperative that we continue to award more projects and that all of these projects get completed.”