New York Governor Seeks to Speed Up Permitting for Renewable Energy Projects

Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Feb. 21 proposed a budget amendment to speed up the permitting and construction of large-scale renewable energy projects. The legislation would create a new Office of Renewable Energy Permitting that will create a siting process specifically designed for renewable energy projects.

The changes are intended to help New York advance its clean energy and climate goals including the mandate to source 70 percent of its power from renewable power. The measure will consolidate the environmental review and permitting of major projects, thereby facilitating a single forum in which the Department of Economic Development’s Permitting Office will ensure that “permitting decisions are predictable, responsible, and delivered on pace” to help the state achieve its goals.

The current energy generation siting process was designed for fossil-fuel electric plants and established prior to the state’s adoption of aggressive goals under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act enacted last year. The law requires a carbon-neutral power system by 2040 and codifies the state’s targets of 6 gigawatts of solar by 2025, 3 gigawatts of energy storage by 2030, and 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035, the most aggressive in the nation.