Governor Cuomo announced as part of his 2019 legislative priorities that New York will transition to carbon-free electricity by 2040. This beats California’s carbon-free deadline by five years.
According to the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Cuomo even referred to the plan as the Green New Deal, a progressive climate change initiative in Congress led by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In response to this announcement, Vote Solar’s senior director for the Northeast, Sean Garren, issued the following statement:
“Governor Cuomo’s commitment to moving New York to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 will lead the Empire State and the nation toward a future with healthy communities, a safe climate, and a strong clean energy economy. The Governor’s leadership is critical as President Trump does his best to hold our country back on climate change and undermine the hundreds of thousands of jobs in our booming clean energy economy.
“This new commitment is powerful, and we need a good near-term plan for achieving it. We must make immediate progress to help families struggling to pay their bills, communities desperate for clean air and water, and an economy needing new jobs and investment today. Powering one million New York homes with solar would deliver just that—immediately accelerating the growth of local clean energy, good jobs and savings on high electric bills for New York families, businesses and municipalities. It would also ensure the clean energy economy we are building is more equitable by delivering concrete and direct benefits to 100,000 low-income homes served with solar.
“We applaud Governor Cuomo’s leadership on clean energy and climate and call on him to pair this landmark commitment with a near-term goal of powering one million homes, including 100,000 low-income households, with solar by 2023. This will be a critical step to setting New York on the path that leads to 100% carbon-free energy by 2040.”
Following is a statement by Sean Gallagher, SEIA’s VP of state affairs:
“Governor Cuomo’s commitment to move New York to 100% carbon-free electricity is historic, and will cement New York’s place among America’s clean energy leaders. This plan can bring massive economic and environmental benefits to communities throughout the state, spurring many new, well-paying jobs and cleaner air.
“We look forward to working with the Cuomo Administration to craft the near-term plan for reaching this long-term goal. Specific examples include doubling down on solar and committing to obtaining 6 gigawatts of solar by 2023, establishing strong policies in the ongoing Value of Distributed Energy Resources case and bringing more large-scale solar to New York.”
The announcement follows Governor Cuomo’s increase, last week, of New York’s energy storage target to 3 GW by 2030, another policy that will be vital to achieving 100% clean electricity.
The move would make New York the fourth state with a 100% clean electricity or clean energy goal, following California, Hawaii and New Jersey. Today, New York has 9,012 solar jobs and 1,570 MW of solar installed, the 10th most among states.
Updated with SEIA’s statement on Dec. 18
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