Renewable Energy

A Victory (for now) on the NYS Climate Action Front

/ Peter Bardaglio / Leave a comment

There is so little good news in the world these days, especially regarding the climate crisis, that it’s worth paying attention when some comes along. Not just happy, greeting card talk, but substantive, positive developments.

Well, there was good news last Friday (October 24) and it’s worth focusing on. A state supreme court judge ruled that New York is violating its own 2019 climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

CLCPA Mandates

How can this possibly be good news?

Here’s why: it’s been clear for months now that Governor Hochul and her administration have been working hard at slow-walking the effort to to implement the CLCPA. This law mandated – not suggested, recommended, or advised, but legally stipulated – the following climate and clean energy targets: a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030; an 85% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050; and 70% renewable electricity by 2030; and 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.

Cap and Trade Rules

Under the law, the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had until the start of 2024 to issue regulations that would “ensure” New York met its binding greenhouse gas emissions targets. A year and a half later, no such regulations had been issued.

Behind the scenes, the DEC and NYSERDA had apparently completed draft rules at the beginning of this year for cap and invest, the emissions program that is critical to theimplementation of the climate law. But the governor, instead of releasing these rules for public comment, pulled the plug on them.

In response, Citizen Action of New York, PUSH Buffalo, Sierra Club, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice filed suit in March. In his decision Judge Julian Schreibman gave the DEC until February 6 to issue the cap and trade regulations. “While DEC notes that it has taken other, commendable regulatory steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the judge said, “it candidly concedes that the impact of those regulations would fall far short” of the targets set out in the climate law.

Echoing Governor Hochul’s concerns about cap and trade, the DEC argued in court that issuing the regulations was “infeasible” because it “would require imposing extraordinary and damaging costs upon New Yorkers.”Judge Schreibman, to his credit, dismissed that argument. “It is undoubtedly true that the task placed before the DEC is very complicated indeed,” he observed. “But as a legal argument, this is unavailing.”

Two Paths

The judge said there were two paths ahead: the DEC can release regulations to meet the requirements of the law or the legislature can change the law. Of course, the DEC could also appeal the decision, which would lead the case to drag on for months longer, if not more. The DEC would only say that it was reviewing the decision.

Governor Hochul took a less ambiguous position on the decision, indicating that she was considering the possibility of pushing the state legislature to change the CLCPA.

NY Renews, a statewide climate justice coalition, spoke out in strong opposition to this possibility. In its words, “changing the climate law would be a massive step in the wrong direction, allowing polluters across New York to proceed with business as usual, unfettered and unchecked, and condemning us to an ever-worsening climate crisis.”

As if on cue, Hurricane Melissa roared through the Caribbean, leaving a trail of death and massive destruction in its wake. One of the strongest hurricanes on record, Melissa slammed into Jamaica on October 28 with winds of 185 mph. Closer to home, New York City suffered extensive flooding and at least two deaths on October 30 as rainfall broke 100-year records and submerged streets and subways.

The message couldn’t be clearer: the climate crisis isn’t going away and, in fact, will only get worse. Those of us who recognize this likelihood must hold the governor and state legislators accountable during the next session beginning in January, making sure that any efforts to weaken the climate law are defeated.

The New York Draft Energy Plan Falls Woefully Short

/ Peter Bardaglio / Leave a comment

It wasn’t that long ago New York achieved national prominence for its ambitious renewable energy push. But with NYSERDA’s recent release of its draft energy plan state officials are openly acknowledging that New York will fail to meet the clean energy targets mandated by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2018. The state climate law stipulates that 70% of the energy produced in New York should be zero-emissions by 2030.

The plan recognizes the need for more renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. To say the least, however, it sends a disappointing message by calling for continued reliance on fossil fuels as well as new investments in new natural gas pipelines and the repowering of fossil fuel plants.

The plan also concludes that New York’s goal of reaching a 40% reduction in emissions from 1990s levels by 2030 is probably not achievable. So far the state has only reduced its emissions by 10% with just five years to go.

Not surprisingly, the plan blames some of the state’s failures on the increasingly aggressive opposition to renewable energy by the Trump administration, but as environmental activists point out, the state was already behind before these attacks.

To its credit, the plan calls for accelerating the deployment of energy efficiency measures such as home weatherization and power-saving appliances. According to its projections, up to 25% of homes by 2040 will have heat pumps and over half the cars could be zero-emission vehicles.

The plan also seeks to increase solar power and battery storage, and notes that New York could increase its renewable electricity generation by 80% over the next 10 years. Of course, the Trump administration’s irrational effort to pull the plug on offshore wind casts a shadow over this possibility.

With the right kind of strong, visionary leadership, New York could accelerate its adoption of solar energy, battery storage, and geothermal energy while retiring its fossil fuel system and electrifying transportation and buildings. The key problem clearly lies with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s reluctance to meet the moment and provide such leadership.

Thousands of comments have been submitted by the public focusing on the flaws in the draft energy plan and its lack of commitment to the CLCPA. Later this year, the state will publish a final plan. Let’s hope it responds to these comments, keeping New York on the path to a renewable energy future.

Let’s Keep the Inflation Reduction Act Powering Upstate New York

/ Peter Bardaglio / Leave a comment

The following was originally published in the Ithaca Times on April 20, 2025.

Upstate New York has always been a place where hard work and innovation go hand in hand, going back to the building of the Erie Canal. Now, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), our region is seeing a surge in clean energy investments that are creating jobs, lowering energy costs, and strengthening local economies.

The IRA Drives Economic Benefits

We can see firsthand how federal policies like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are driving tangible benefits for our communities.Ithaca’s groundbreaking plan to decarbonize the city’s buildings, for example, is tapping into federal incentives to make the transition affordable and sustainable.

Meanwhile, the IRA’s Rural Energy for America program is helping farms and small businesses across the Southern Tier invest in energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy projects for affordable energy they can generate on their own land.

Key to Private Investment Growth

Throughout our region and the nation, clean energy projects are delivering economic growth and hundreds of new jobs. Since the passage of the IRA, the U.S. has added more than 400,000 new clean energy jobs and seen over $422 billion in private investment. And in New York alone, federal clean energy tax credits have driven $115.47 billion in investments and created nearly 29,000 jobs since they were passed. Here in our region, the impact is clear: new, good-paying jobs in manufacturing, more reliable, locally-produced clean energy, and strengthened economic opportunities in both urban and rural communities. Despite this momentum, some in Washington want to roll back these critical investments. Repealing clean energy tax credits would mean turning away billions in future investment, increasing energy costs for businesses and families, and slowing the progress we have worked so hard to achieve.

That’s why we need Rep. Josh Riley, Rep. Nick Langworthy, and Rep. Claudia Tenney to stand up for Upstate New York and protect the Inflation Reduction Act. Our region is already seeing the benefits, and by maintaining this momentum, we can build a future that is both economically and environmentally resilient. Now is the time to double down on our progress, like the early canal builders, not turn back.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

/ Peter Bardaglio / Leave a comment

With the Trump administration taking office on January 20, it’s become clear that efforts to stave off runaway climate change will have to focus on state and local policy.

Trump has promised to halt federal support for clean energy technology and electric vehicles, and he has pledged to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, reverse a key regulation aimed at reducing emissions from power plants, and roll back other rules aimed at curbing climate change and air and water pollution.

Offshore wind is a crucial component of New York’s attempt to achieve 70 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Photo by David Dixon/Walney Offshore Windfarm licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Clean Energy’s Rapid Growth Continues

One bright light, though, is the fact that Trump can slow down progress, but he can’t stop the transformation of the domestic and global economies sparked by the clean energy revolution.

More than 40 percent of all global power in 2023 came from renewable sources, and investments in renewable energy are accelerating because prices have dropped dramatically. In fact, more than 80 percent of new electricity capacity around the world comes from carbon-free sources.

NY’s Leadership Role

Nonetheless, action at the state and local levels will be imperative going forward. With Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signing of the Climate Change Superfund Act, New York has taken on a leadership role that will give the state an opportunity to defy the president-elect’s attempt to reverse climate action. This new law, as explained above, will require the biggest oil and gas companies to contribute to a fund that will be used for infrastructure projects meant to protect New York residents from increasingly dangerous climate disasters like storms and sea level rise.

Another major step in the state’s climate fight took place when Hochul, at the same time, signed into law a prohibition on using carbon dioxide for fracking, closing a loophole in New York’s existing hydraulic fracturing ban (also reported above). This legislation, introduced by Assemblymember Anna Kelles in March, signals a determination to keep the fracking industry out of the state.

These two steps forward should be applauded, while at the same time recognizing the importance of continuing the push on climate action and clean energy in Albany when the state legislature opens its new session on January 8. Efforts to ensure that New York obtains 70 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030, as called for by the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) are especially critical.

Expanding offshore wind, implementing congestion pricing in New York City, eliminating subsidies for new gas hookups as well as the Public Service Commission’s obligation to provide gas service, reducing state tax breaks provided to the fossil fuel industry, putting in place a true cap-and-invest program with guardrails to keep it from devolving into cap-and-trade, increasing the kinds of containers covered by the state’s bottle law, and addressing the issue of plastic packaging are just some of the ways New York can continue to strengthen its leadership role on the climate and clean energy fronts.

At the local level, we’ve seen a disappointing step backward with the continued attempt by Cornell University to install synthetic turf fields on campus. Given the recent finding that 2024 is set to become the hottest year on record, the massive rollout of plastic undertaken by Cornell at its athletic facilities is a bad look, to say the least.

Equally dismaying is the apparently superficial investigation by the city planning board as part of the approval process. The board’s negative declaration of environmental significance, precluding the need for the kind of thorough environmental impact statement (EIS) called for by Zero Waste Ithaca, is hard to fathom in light of existing scientific research outlining the harmful public health and environmental effects of synthetic turf. We can only hope that the lawsuit launched by this activist organization will result in greater transparency regarding the risks involved.