Dive Brief:

• The New York Power Authority’s board on Tuesday approved an update to its renewables plan, adding about 2.5 GW of planned capacity for a total of5.5-GW.
• The latest iteration of NYPA’s renewable energy plan includes an additional 1,425 MW of solar, 800 MW of wind, 700 MW of distributed energy storage and a 500-MW compressed air storage project being developed in Croghan and Lewis counties by Antelope Energy Storage.
• NYPA’s updated strategic renewable energy plan is less ambitious than the 7-GW proposal issued in July. It also reflects major policy and market changes affecting renewables since NYPA’s inaugural plan, which called for about 3 GW, was adopted in January. In total, 15 projects were dropped from the original plan for 40, while 20 were added.

Dive Insight:

In 2023, the New York Legislature gave NYPA new authority to develop, own and operate renewable energy generating projects to help the state meet its clean energy targets, which call for New York to produce 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and have a zero-emission power system a decade later.

That effort, however, faces challenges including the Trump administration’s efforts to stymie renewable energy development, increased costs driven by import tariffs and generally higher prices. The state’s grid operator has warned that the region faces increased risk of power shortages over the next five years unless planned projects, including new transmission and offshore wind resources, are brought online.

The plan emphasized the need to protect consumers as power bills climb.

“While NYPA provides an opportunity to develop renewable energy for New York more affordably and equitably, there are still costs associated with this transition that will ultimately be paid by New Yorkers,” it said. “To ensure that this transition occurs in the most affordable manner, the Power Authority is making every effort to pursue cost-effective projects in the most efficient and lowest-risk ways.”

NYPA plans to reassess its renewable energy plan as projects move through the development process.

Some of the largest projects included in the update to NYPA’s plan are:

• Two wind projects totaling 700 MW to be built by Forward Power
• Three solar projects totaling 790 MW to be built by EDF
• Two solar projects totaling 225 MW to be built by AES
• Two portfolios of distributed storage totaling about 675 MW to be developed by Orenda.

NYPA is required to have majority ownership in the projects in its renewable expansion plan, preventing it from “selling down” its stakes to garner funding for other projects, the public power entity noted in the plan.

“Selling down at opportunistic points in a project’s lifespan would better position NYPA to diversify project holdings to reduce concentration risk and exposure to projects, recapitalize itself, and redeploy the recovered capital to additional renewable projects,” NYPA said.

NYPA’s 2025-2028 Financial Plan includes $699 million for renewable energy development, the public power entity said.

The most common comment NYPA received from stakeholders on its renewable energy plan was to develop 15 GW of renewables, according to the plan.

NYPA said it wasn’t mandated to meet New York’s clean energy goals. 

“Rather, NYPA was directed to supplement private sector energy development to ensure that New York’s clean energy transition is faster, more affordable, and more equitable,” the public power entity said.

New York’s electric demand is growing, making the delivery of clean, affordable electricity more important than ever, according to NYPA Chairman John Koelmel.

“The updated renewables strategic plan details the Power Authority’s comprehensive strategy to develop clean energy projects that will strengthen the resiliency of the grid and reduce our reliance on fossil fuel resources,” he said in the press release.