The New York Public Service Commission is due to receive comments on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s contracts for two transmission projects: Clean Path New York LLC’s Clean Path NY and H.Q. Energy Services (U.S.) Inc.’s Champlain Hudson Power Express. The projects would deliver solar, wind, and hydroelectric power from upstate New York and Canada to New York City. This represents the largest renewable energy and transmission projects contracted for the state in the last 50 years. The contracts are expected to deliver up to $7.4 billion in societal benefits including emissions reductions and improved air quality. Further, the projects would help reduce the city’s fossil fuel use for electricity by more than 80 percent in 2030 and support New York State’s goal of sourcing 70 percent power from renewable resources on the path to a carbon-free grid. READ MORE

The New York Public Service Commission is due to receive comments on its solar roadmap, which outlines a comprehensive strategy to achieve 10 gigawatts of distributed solar by 2030 by extending the NY-Sun initiative. The plan would require an incremental 4 gigawatts over the existing target of 6 gigawatts of distributed solar by 2025 under the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. The NY-Sun initiative, launched in 2012, aims to create a sustainable and subsidy-free solar industry at the state level. The expansion is expected to spur about $4.4 billion in private investment and create 6,000 new solar jobs across the state. READ MORE

The Maryland Public Service Commission will hold a work group meeting to discuss proposals on cost-recovery, bill impacts, and funding as it examines a new goal structure for EmPOWER Maryland, the state’s energy efficiency program. The current goal structure is mandated by legislation through the end of the 2021-2023 program cycle and the commission is required to provide the General Assembly with recommendations on future goals and cost-effectiveness tests by July 1, 2022. An order issued in December 2020 authorized the transition to the next three-year program cycle and approved various proposals by the program administrators to continue operating the core energy efficiency programs in 2021-2023. 9648

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is due to receive comments on Buffalo Ridge Wind LLC’s request to amend the permit for its 108.9-megawatt wind project to be located in Lincoln and Pipestone Counties. The commission issued a permit for the project in January, and subsequently, the company requested an amendment to reflect an update to the turbine technology, relocation of its collector substation, and inclusion of a generation-tie line resulting from the relocation. The facility will include up to 40 wind turbines and associated facilities, and a meteorological tower. The company has a power purchase agreement with Great River Energy to sell the output of the project for a 25-year term. WS-19-394

The California Energy Commission will hold a workshop to discuss approaches for examining the environmental and land use implications of potential resource portfolios to meet the state’s clean energy goals. A 2018 state law established a target for renewable and zero-carbon resources to supply 100 percent of retail sales and electricity procured to serve all state agencies by 2045. The discussion will examine the recommendations in a joint-agency report released in March 2021 regarding analysis of projected land-use impacts and inclusion of non-energy benefits in future analysis. The workshop will include presentations from the Energy Commission, Public Utilities Commission, and California Independent System Operator on the status of resource and transmission planning, and coordination on land use.

The California Energy Commission will conduct a workshop to explore the requirements of a 2021 law that called for a strategic plan to develop offshore wind energy off the California coast in federal waters. The agency will present an overview of its plan, while the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will discuss activities in federal waters, including the process of moving toward a lease sale auction for areas off the north and central coasts of California. The law directs the commission to establish offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045 by June 1, 2022. To this end, the agency is required to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity that can be achieved in a manner that benefits ratepayers, supports employment, and enhances reliability and decarbonization.