Council Member James F. Gennaro, Chair of the NYC Council’s Committee on Environmental Safety, Resiliency & Waterfronts, advocates for prioritizing the Clear Path Challenge to advance New York’s renewable power objectives.
Picture courtesy of NYC Council./Clear Path NY
New York is at a important crossroads within the combat to decarbonize its power infrastructure and guarantee a more healthy, extra sustainable future for future generations.
The passage of New York’s landmark Local weather Management and Neighborhood Safety Act (CLCPA) was heralded as the start of a brand new period for our state’s power panorama. With streamlined processes and focused funding, we envisioned a path to remove our reliance on costly and polluting fossil fuels—significantly within the deprived communities which have borne the brunt of this burden for too lengthy.
Regardless of many individuals working very onerous to realize these objectives, a mix of things has made attaining the objectives of the CLCPA way more tough. In mild of those challenges, it’s incumbent on state policymakers to grab each “shovel-ready” alternative to advance our clear power agenda.
The Public Service Fee (PSC) has simply such a chance, one that may get our clear power transition again on the right track – it might designate the Clear Path Transmission Challenge (Clear Path) a Precedence Transmission Challenge (PTP) and permit the New York Energy Authority (NYPA) to maneuver ahead with building.
NYPA’s Clear Path is a 175-mile-long, underground transmission line that may convey renewable power from upstate to New York Metropolis. The 1300-megawatt undertaking will assist to satisfy the rising demand for power, ease bottlenecks and improve reliability throughout the system.
New Yorkers have spoken. The docket earlier than the PSC is stocked full of people and organizations representing a broad cross-section of stakeholders who took the time to reply through the public remark interval and categorical help for shifting CPNY ahead. Folks from upstate and downstate, chambers of commerce, elected officers, environmental advocates, labor unions, group leaders, and so many others have made it clear they’re able to make Clear Path a actuality.
Clear Path is precisely the type of undertaking lawmakers had in thoughts after they handed the Accelerated Renewable Power Progress and Neighborhood Profit Act, which arrange a course of to expedite critically necessary power infrastructure initiatives.
The advantages of shifting the Clear Path undertaking ahead are simple. Clear Path will convey much-needed renewable power from upstate to the fossil fuel-dependent Metropolis and downstate area, rising system reliability, reducing prices for New York Ratepayers, and enhancing public well being.
The numbers are equally clear—in accordance with NYPA’s petition, the Challenge will lead to over 78 million tons per 12 months of CO2 emissions prevented on a statewide foundation in 2030 whereas producing advantages of between $6.2 and $21.5 billion over a 23-year interval. Clear Path may also tackle reliability deficiencies, which the New York Impartial System Operator, Inc. (NYISO) has projected to start as early as 2031.
In brief, Clear Path will save ratepayers cash, reduce air pollution and assist NYC preserve the lights on as demand for electrical energy continues to rise.
Failure to behave has clear penalties as effectively—by forcing current fossil gasoline vegetation to stay in service, we are going to drive up charges for ratepayers and proceed damaging well being outcomes for deprived communities.
With ever-increasing uncertainty from DC, New York ought to act wherever attainable to make sure that some communities don’t proceed to bear the damaging penalties of native fossil gasoline era.
Making the Clear Path undertaking a PTP so it might transfer ahead as rapidly as attainable will assure that New York continues to take significant steps towards assembly our local weather objectives, making certain that future Earth Days are a celebration of our state’s resiliency.
Council Member James F. Gennaro represents New York Metropolis’s twenty fourth Council District, encompassing neighborhoods equivalent to Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens Hills, Briarwood, and Contemporary Meadows. He presently chairs the Council’s Committee on Environmental Safety, Resiliency & Waterfronts.
