New York’s “asinine” climate change law requiring a dramatic increase in green energy has set unattainable goals and could lead to higher electricity costs for consumers, a leading advocate for state utilities says.
“It’s very clear that New York will not meet the goals required by statute with regard to climate change,” said Paul Zuber, senior vice president of the NYS Business Council, during an interview on WABC 77 radio “The Cats.” Round Table Program”.
Without changes, the law will only drive more residents and businesses out of New York due to rising energy costs to build the transmission lines for renovation projects, Zuber argued.
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019 requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels.
The goal is to boost the production of wind and solar energy and achieve 70% renewable energy without carbon and fossil fuels by 2030.
“It’s not a realistic goal,” Zuber said. “It’s absurd.”
He noted that the recent cancellation of three offshore wind projects was a major setback to achieving the goals set by the law and provides strong evidence that the statute is impractical.
New York is betting too much on wind and solar instead of a more diverse energy portfolio to fuel the state that includes nuclear power and natural gas, Zuber said.
“It especially doesn’t work when you do what a lot of the environmentalists want: to have only wind and only solar … When you look at it that way, it’s a joke,” he said.
“The cost to the average consumer when they’re paying their electric bill is going to skyrocket because utilities have to build transition lines to these renewable projects, which costs money, and that cost is passed on to the taxpayer.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul faced a backlash after the state banned gas stoves from new home construction to help meet climate goals.
Meanwhile, a coalition representing thousands of New York City condo and co-op owners is pushing for a tax break to help with the $20,000-per-unit costs of complying with the mandate.
An energy expert at the conservative-leaning Empire Center for Public Policy agreed that the renewable energy targets set by the law are not achievable.
“This climate change law has the potential to kill manufacturing in the upstate,” said Ken Girardin, director of research at the Empire Center, which released a recent study claiming the state’s projections understate the actual costs of complying with the statute.
Hochul’s office defended his administration’s implementation of the climate change law, stating that nearly 60 percent of the state’s power generation mix now comes from clean energy sources, such as hydro, wind and solar energy.
Under the status quo, New York consumers are stuck with dramatic fluctuations in utility bills and skyrocketing costs after extreme weather events,” a Hochul spokesperson said Tuesday.
“Governor Hochul is advancing the clean energy revolution to protect New Yorkers, while investing $1.6 billion this year alone in energy affordability initiatives.”
Environmental advocates also defended the law and accused the Business Council of New York of carrying water for the fossil fuel industry, charging that the group’s position “is predictable given its core memberships in companies related to oil and gas”.
Their position is short-sighted and fails to take into account the urgent need to get off the dirty fossil fuel roller coaster to renewable energy, which will benefit the health and safety of our communities as well as our economy,” he said Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.
“Now may be the time to ease up on the gas in our cars, but we should be putting the pedal to the metal to meet our clean energy goals,” Tighe added.
“The Hochul Administration continues to be a leader on this issue and we applaud their efforts to achieve the CLCPA’s ambitious goals.”
Another green energy insider said offshore wind projects will be brought back to life, but added that the state made a mistake by decommissioning Indian Power’s nuclear plant in Westchester under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Indian Point provided about a quarter of the power to juice New York City.
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