Letter to Governor Hochul Re: Renewable Energy Expansion in NY

Kathy Hochul Governor, New York State State Capitol Albany, NY 12224 December 16, 2021 Dear Governor Hochul, As New York State Assemblymembers and Senators, we are committed to standing up for frontline communities - communities where residents are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and who need the State to act to prevent the climate catastrophe. As legislators invested in good economic, climate, health, and resiliency policy, we are asking you to include the NY Build Public Renewables Act A.1466-A/S.6453 in the Executive Budget.

As you mentioned in your announcements during climate week, “the stakes have never been higher” for addressing the climate crisis. Yet the state is not acting boldly enough to meet the goals of the CLCPA nor the impending climate crisis. As the storms earlier this year showed us, transitioning our state to a renewable energy economy is not only mandated by the CLCPA but is a matter of life and death. New York only generates 6% wind and solar energy. In order to meet our 70% by 2030 CLCPA mandate, we must be willing to take bold action. That is why you must include the NY Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) in the Executive Budget.

Currently, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) is legally prohibited from owning more than six utilityscale generation facilities. At a time when we need to scale up as quickly as possible, why would we limit ourselves? The NY Build Public Renewables Act would remove this limitation, allowing NYPA to scale up renewable energy generation faster, cheaper and more efficiently. As the country’s largest publiclyowned energy provider, NYPA can take advantage of having some of the highest rated green bonds in the country to make the upfront investments that are necessary to put us on track to meet our renewable mandates. We have to pass BPRA this year —anything less will repeat the failures of past energy policies that have put promises over action and have put New York on a path toward disaster.

The Build Public Renewables Act is revenue neutral. Its funding mechanism uses NYPA’s existing nationleading bond program and financing while creating synergies between our state energy agencies. According to research out of the University of Pennsylvania, the Build Public Renewables Act could add up to $90 Billion to the State’s economy over the next decade and up to 51,000 sustained, union jobs.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created NYPA as Governor of NY, which helped to inspire his New Deal as President. We ask you to include the Build Public Renewables Act in the budget to fulfill the promise of the CLCPA and cement New York’s status as the Green New Deal model for President Biden. Please include the NY Build Public Renewables Act in your Executive Budget. We must seize this opportunity before it’s too late.

Thank you. Sincerely,

(See attached pdf for Senate and Assembly signatories)