Over 200 New Yorkers called on Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to build 15 GW of renewable energy at a rally and public hearing at John Jay College on Wednesday night. Speakers ranged from 14-year old students to an 89-year old member of PSC-CUNY, a union that has hosted ten of its town halls on decarbonizing its NYPA-powered facilities.
NYPA is holding public hearings across the state to receive feedback on its recently released draft plan to implement the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA). NYPA’s draft plan proposes to build only 3.5 GW of renewable energy, with very few projects planned for the Hudson Valley and downstate New York, where electricity demand is greatest.
In just over a month, 3,000 New Yorkers have sent Public Comments to NYPA demanding 15 GW, echoing calls from the AFL-CIO, Building Trades Council, and environmental groups. Advocates, elected officials and energy experts who fought for and won the BPRA say NYPA’s proposal does not go far enough to meet state climate goals. The message to Hochul at hearings across the state has been to send the plan back to the drawing board and return with one that builds enough renewables to shut down harmful peaker plants, create tens of thousands of good paying union jobs and lower energy bills for those who need it most.
“We know we can’t count on the federal government right now — it’s up to New York to accelerate the energy transition we need by putting people over profit. That is exactly the responsibility of the New York Power Authority. NYPA’s leadership must acknowledge this mandate and revise the strategic plan to include at least 15 GW of renewables by 2030 to ensure we meet CLCPA goals. Only then can we get off expensive fossil fuels and build the renewable abundant energy we need to keep our electricity stable and affordable,” said State Senator Jabari Brisport.
Advocates say implementing the BPRA gives NYPA a golden opportunity to fully decarbonize public schools by siting utility scale and distributed generation on SUNY and CUNY campuses and K-12 schools, and building enough capacity to meet their energy demands.
“CUNY and SUNY shouldn’t only be recipients of energy from the NY Power Authority; our colleges sit on public land and should house new renewable energy,” Jennifer Gaboury (PSC-CUNY).
News item from Public Power NY
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