More than 200 New Yorkers called on Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to build 15 GW of renewable energy during a rally and public hearing at John Jay College on Wednesday evening. The 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 gain feedback on the recently released draft plan to implement the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA). NYPA’s draft plan proposes building only 3.5 GW of renewable energy, with very few projects planned for the Hudson Valley and New York State, where electricity demand is greatest.
In just over a month, 3,000 New Yorkers 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 the NYPA proposal does not go far enough to achieve the state’s climate goals. The message to Hochul at hearings across the state was to send the plan back to the drawing board and come back with a plan that builds enough renewables to shut down harmful peaking power plants, create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs and lower energy bills for those who do. do to reduce. who need it most.
“We know that we cannot rely on the federal government at this time. It’s up to New York to accelerate the energy transition we need by putting people before profits. That is precisely the responsibility of the New York Power Authority. NYPA leadership must recognize 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 move away from expensive fossil fuels and build the abundant renewable energy we need to keep our electricity stable and affordable,” said Senator Jabari Brisport.
Advocates say implementing the BPRA gives NYPA a golden opportunity to fully decarbonize public schools by placing utilities and distributed generation on SUNY and CUNY campuses and K-12 schools, and building enough capacity to meet their energy needs.
“CUNY and SUNY should not only be recipients of energy from the NY Power Authority; our colleges are on public land and should house new renewable energy,” Jennifer Gaboury (PSC-CUNY).
News story from Public Power NY
