Amd §§137 & 66-p, Pub Serv L; amd §75-0103, En Con L
Establishes new targets for offshore wind electricity generation; includes the requirements that there is at least 15 gigawatts of offshore wind electricity generation by 2040, at least 18 gigawatts of offshore wind electricity generation by 2045 and at least 20 gigawatts of offshore wind electricity generation by 2050.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2596
SPONSOR: Barrett TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law and the environmental conserva-
tion law, in relation to establishing new targets for offshore wind
electricity generation
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
This bill establishes new ambitious offshore wind electricity generation
targets: 15 gigawatts by 2040, 18 gigawatts by 2045, and 20 gigawatts by
2050.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
§ 1 - Amends subdivision 1 of Section 137 of the Public Service Law, as
added by section 11 of part 0 of chapter 58 of the Laws of 2024, to
establish three additional offshore wind electricity generation targets:
15 gigawatts by 2040, 18 gigawatts by 2045, and 20 gigawatts by 2050.
§ 2 - Amends subdivision 5 of Section 66-p of the Public Service Law, as
added by chapter 106 of the Laws of 2019, to establish three additional
offshore wind electricity generation targets: 15 gigawatts by 2040, 18
gigawatts by 2045, and 20 gigawatts by 2050.
§ 3 - Amends paragraph e of subdivision 13 of Section 75-0103 of the
Environmental Conservation Law, as added by Chapter 106 of the Laws of
2019, to establish three additional offshore wind electricity generation
targets: 15 gigawatts by 2040, 18 gigawatts by 2045, and 20 gigawatts by
2050.
§ 4 - Effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2019, New York State enacted the Climate Leadership and Community
Protection Act (CLCPA), the nation's most comprehensive climate legis-
lation. In 2020, the State enacted specific statutory CLCPA targets for
renewable energy generation, including a requirement that the State
procure a minimum of 9 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generated by
offshore wind by 2035.
Since then, the State has worked diligently toward achieving this
target, with the nation's first utility sized offshore wind project,
South Fork Wind, coming online in March of 2024, providing 132 MW of
power, enough to serve 70,000 Long Island households. Two additional
projects, Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind, are in active development and,
when completed, are expected to generate over 1,700 MW with additional
solicitations from NYSERDA expected to be released in 2025. New York's
efforts are also supported by large investments to fund offshore and
onshore transmission expansion, port upgrades; manufacturing, and supply
chain infrastructure, while prioritizing prevailing wages and labor
agreements, to create excellent career opportunities and the skilled
workforce that will be necessary for greater expansion for many years to
come. The prospects of offshore wind development have been boosted
further by auctions for wind energy lease areas proximate to New York
conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, federal incen-
tives, and large-scale investments by the private sector.
There is a growing consensus that the State should formally adopt more
ambitious and longer-term targets to reflect the progress made to date
and the promise that offshore wind holds to help achieve New York's
aspirations on climate change.
The CLCPA established the Climate Action Council, which was tasked with
creating a Scoping Plan that serves as a blueprint for how the State
will cut greenhouse gasses and achieve net-zero emissions, increase the
use of renewable energy sources, and ensure climate justice. The Council
reviewed various scenarios for meeting the State's climate targets and
deemed it to be ambitious but feasible and cost-effective to assume that
just under 10 GW of offshore wind energy can be generated by 2035, just
under 16 can be generated, by 2040, and a little more than 18 can be
generated by 2045. (These figures appear in the Council's Scoping Plan
in Appendix G, "Capacity and Generation Results: Scenario 4.") In Decem-
ber 2022, a broad coalition of stakeholders representing the renewable
energy sector, environmental advocates, labor, and business concluded
that it is feasible and desirable to adopt a target of 20 GW by 2050.
This bill, by setting a series of ambitious targets for offshore wind
electricity generation that can be achieved between now and 2050, will
help ensure that we stay on track to meet the challenges posed by
climate change and make New York a national model for renewable energy
generation, while ushering in a far more environmentally sustainable,
healthy, affordable, and economically secure future for all New Yorkers.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: A.7407/S.6327-A
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the
amendments to subdivision 1 of section 137 of the public service law
made by section one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such
section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
