State Comptroller Weighs in on New York's Green Energy Ambitions

New York will have to crank up the construction of non-fossil fuel energy systems by 200% if it wants to meet its ambitious green energy goals, according to a report from Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who warned that the cost associated with the new facilities will be ultimately borne by the ratepayers.

“New York’s energy goals are attainable, but require careful attention and management to address challenges, meet ambitious deadlines and avoid future pitfalls,” DiNapoli said in addressing the clean energy goals set out in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPC).

Solar, wind and other green energy projects will have to produce an astounding 78,073-gigawatt hours above 2022 levels, an increase of over 200 percent, to reach the CLCPC goal of 70 percent green electricity consumption in seven years.

The New York Independent System Operator, the agency which coordinates the state’s power grid, predicted energy shortfalls, especially in New York City, if transmission lines aren’t upgraded fast enough to make up for the planned closure of older fossil fuel power plants. It noted that these gas and oil “peaker” plants, utilized during periods of high demand, might have to remain in service longer than previously thought.

“The costs of incentivizing renewable electricity development and transmission upgrades are borne almost exclusively by New York’s utility customers through a charge per kilowatt hour of electricity consumed,” DiNapoli said, confirming critic warnings that the green energy projects will make electricity extremely expensive in the Empire State.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli File Photo

“In the 12 years from 2008-09 through 2020-21, NYSERDA spent roughly $6.7 billion of ratepayer funds on a variety of clean energy programs,” DiNapoli said, referring to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The authority is responsible for subsidies and other incentives to power developers looking to generate clean electricity. Escalating costs of green energy came to light at the Port of Albany, where the budget for an offshore wind farm mushroomed from $350 million to $604 million, requiring an as-of-yet undetermined source of funding.

New York state ranks sixth place nationally in its production of renewable power, with 124,912-gigawatt hours of green electricity produced in 2020, the report noted, from sources including biodiesel, hydropower, solar, and wind. The state ranks third after Washington and Oregon in the generation of hydroelectric power and is 10th in the generation of solar electricity. New York is 18th in the generation of electricity with wind. As of last year, approximately 29 percent of the electricity generated in the state came from renewable sources, according to the study.