State increases renewables projection, finalizes all-electric law
Two months after declaring its intention to build a nuclear plant to provide at least 1 gigawatt of power, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) has another ambitious initiative.
The draft of the agency’s updated strategic plan calls for wind, solar and battery storage projects to provide 7 gigawatts — enough to power between 5 million and 7 million homes — built by the NYPA or private developers. The plan is online at bit.ly/NYPA2025 and the authority will hold virtual public hearings on Aug. 19 and Aug. 20. See nypa.gov/public-hearings to register.
Although none of the proposed projects are in Dutchess or Putnam counties, the number of renewable energy projects is more than double that in the NYPA’s strategic plan released just eight months ago. NYPA credits the boom to funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which included subsidies and incentives for renewable energy projects.
“The last few years have seen a massive growth, not only in the wind and solar that we’re adding to our system, but our ability to manufacture and train so that we have a workforce and a system that is ready to meet growing demand,” said Amanda Levin, director of policy analysis for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
In March, NYPA announced that it would be taking ownership of a solar energy project outside of Glens Falls. A month later, NYPA and the City of Albany announced a plan to develop a solar project on a capped landfill. That project will also be the first to participate in an NYPA program in which power is sold to low- and moderate-income families at reduced rates.
But federal actions are threatening to delay the state renewables boom. The budget signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4 ended the Inflation Reduction Act’s incentives for renewables, except for batteries. A series of executive orders imposed additional restrictions on renewables, including penalties for importing materials from China, a leading manufacturer of renewable energy equipment. This month, the Department of the Interior announced plans to subject wind and solar projects, including some already approved, to “further review.”
Due to the federal changes, Christopher Hutson, the NYPA’s senior vice president of development, warned at a July 29 board meeting of the possibility that not all of NYPA’s renewable projects will come to fruition, although some “may progress on their own.”
The IRA’s tax credits for renewables won’t end immediately; wind and solar projects that begin construction by July 2026 or begin service by Dec. 31, 2027, can still claim them. Hutson said the state could begin construction of some projects ahead of schedule to meet those deadlines. “Every developer in the country right now is seeking to rapidly procure equipment,” he said. “It will be critical to move fast.”
The NYPA announcement wasn’t the only big step New York took last week toward its long-term climate goals. The 2023 All-Electric Buildings Act cleared a hurdle when the State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council approved required changes.
The law will take effect at the end of the year, making New York the first state to require that all new buildings be powered with electricity instead of oil and gas. Existing buildings are not required to switch, even if renovated, and certain buildings, such as restaurants and crematoriums, are exempt. The law also only applies to buildings up to seven stories high. (Taller buildings have until 2028.)
In 2023, Beacon passed a law banning fossil fuels in new construction projects, before the state law. About a third of New York state’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings, according to a December report issued by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.
James Hartford, co-owner of River Architects in Cold Spring, doesn’t expect the law to change much for his business. As the founder of the New York chapter of the Passive House Alliance, he’s been designing all-electric buildings for years. But he warned that unless builders across the state take cues from passive house design, which requires less energy to heat and cool, the wave of all-electric buildings could strain the power grid.
“If we just swap out systems and don’t upgrade the thermal performance of new buildings, it’s going to be too much of a heavy lift for the grid,” he said. “If we can drop consumption to manageable levels, then it’s an easy thing.”
The all-electric law has faced pushback from the New York State Builders Association and the National Association of Home Builders, which argue that it will increase construction costs. In June, several industry groups wrote the U.S. Department of Justice asking it to “investigate and pursue legal action to delay, postpone, or preempt New York State’s impending statewide ban on fossil fuel appliances and infrastructure in new buildings.”
The letter references an executive order by President Trump that directs the Justice Department to identify and stop “any such state laws purporting to address ‘climate change’ or involving ‘environmental, social, and governance’ initiatives, ‘environmental justice,’ carbon or ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions, and funds to collect carbon penalties or carbon taxes.”
Part 1: Peak Power
Part 2: Cost Overload
Part 3: Home Energy
Part 4: Public Power
