Exclusive | EPA chief Lee Zeldin blasts NY green energy law as ‘delusional’ and a…
April 20, 2025
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin slammed New York’s Climate Act, advanced by Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Democrats, Sunday as “delusional” and a “left-wing recipe for an energy and economic catastrophe.”
Zeldin’s barbs come after the Trump administration last week halted the Empire Wind Power project off the New York-New Jersey coast, a setback to the state’s effort to meet emission reduction mandates under its much-criticized green energy law.
“New York’s lofty climate goals don’t come equipped with any feasible plan to actually achieve them. The consequence is that the people who can least afford the economic pain are the ones who get targeted and harmed the most,” Zeldin told The Post.
New York foolishly banned the “safe extraction” of natural gas, gas hookups on new building construction, and gas stoves, while pushing to eliminate the sale of gas-powered vehicles, and blocking new pipeline construction, he said.
“This is a left-wing recipe for an energy and economic catastrophe. The idea that we can replace baseload forms of power with intermittent power like wind is simply delusional,” said the former Long Island congressman, a Republican who ran against Hochul for governor in 2022.
Other mainstream energy experts agreed that New York has to rework the climate law to make it more practical, and less reliant on solar and wind energy, and to axe unattainable mandates to go carbon emissions free.
Under the plan, New York must reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and have 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040.
Rules require the Empire State to generate 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, 6,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2025 and build 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030.
John Howard, former interim chairman of the Public Service Commission, said it’s time to go back to the drawing board.
“We can flap our arms. It doesn’t mean we’re going to fly,” Howard said. “Let’s face reality.”
The Climate Act was approved by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic-run legislature in 2019. He said the law was “well-intentioned” but overly optimistic, even naive.
“The circumstances have changed,” Howard said. “Let’s figure out what we’re going to do.”
To complicate things further, the favorable tax credits for renewable energy to promote solar and wind power might be slashed or eliminated entirely in the next budget approved by President Trump and the Republican-run Congress, he noted.
New York residents may soon feel the results of the climate law in their wallets as well.
Utility giant Con Edison recently proposed double-digit rate hikes for gas and energy bills, blaming the hikes partially on the cost of complying with green mandates.
New York Democrats have joined Republicans in urging the governor to pump the brakes on the timeline forcing New Yorkers to switch from gas-powered cars to emission-free electric autos.
New Yorkers are also lining up in opposition to dozens of new lithium-ion battery energy storage facilities planned across the Big Apple and beyond, over fears they could spark toxic infernos in residential neighborhoods.
Some critics warned that the green energy law was wrong-headed from the start.
“There needs to be an honest discussion about the energy mandates and whether they are real or not,” said Gavin Donohue, president and CEO of the Independent Power Producers of New York.
“There needs to be an honest discussion on the impracticality of the law.”
Donohue, who served on the state’s Climate Action Council, complained there wasn’t a rigorous analysis on whether the deadlines to transition away from fossil fuel to renewables such as solar and wind were achievable.
“We have a state that doesn’t issue permits for fossil fuels,” he said.
Hochul on Sunday was non-committal about amending the Climate Act, which would almost certainly face backlash from lefty environmentalists.
She criticized the Trump team’s decision to suspend the Empire Wind project that was previously approved and in construction.
“The governor has led by example in New York’s ongoing transition to a clean energy economy: we have one of the cleanest grids in the nation — with 50% zero-emission electricity — and are a gold standard in reliability,” Hochul spokesman Paul DeMichele said.
“The governor recognizes that we can only continue to serve as that good example if the lights stay on and costs are low — and she will use every tool at her disposal to ensure that happens. And that includes the fully federal permitted Empire 1 Wind project that the Trump administration is actively disrupting, putting thousands of jobs at risk and having a detrimental impact on the safe, affordable and reliable operation of New York’s electric grid.”
But Zeldin said it’s the Trump administration that is demanding a more balanced energy and environmental approach.
“The Trump EPA understands that we can and must protect the environment AND grow the economy. We are focused on protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback,” he said.
Search
RECENT PRESS RELEASES
Related Post