New York’s Public Renewable Energy Buildout Is Shorting Out
(New York Power Authority / Flickr)

New York’s Public Renewable Energy Buildout Is Shorting Out

It really doesn't help that the people in charge of the state's power authority really don't want to do it.

When New York legislators passed a watered-down version of the Build Public Renewables Act as part of the 2023 state budget, they envisioned what would follow would be a heady and busy few years of fighting climate change through the construction of state-owned renewable power projects on a scale that the state had never seen before, powered by generous state funding.

Two years later, the actual implementation of the BPRA is coming into focus—and it looks a lot like the development system it was desperately trying to replace, one where the private sector is failing to get New York to its renewable energy targets, the state is dithering on its climate responsibilities, and the federal government is indifferent or downright hostile to creating clean energy infrastructure. 

On Tuesday, the New York Power Authority, the state authority that was given the responsibility of using public money to build out enough renewable energy to hit New York's climate goals—which are 70 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 100 percent renewable energy by 2040—released its first strategic plan for the buildout of publicly owned renewables. The result? Just 3 gigawatts of publicly owned power is currently in the pipeline to be built, down from the 3.5 gigawatts projected in the draft plan that was released last year. For comparison, the Ravenswood Generating Station in Long Island City accounts for nearly 2.5 gigawatts alone (of dirty energy).

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