By Hank Russell and Kayleigh Anderson
The same day Governor Kathy Hochul announced the groundbreaking of a new wind project on the south shore of Long Island, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released an audit showing that the Public Service Commission (PSC) did not do enough to assist the state in achieving its clean energy goals.
Hochul announced the construction of the Sunrise Wind, a 924-megawatt project developed by Ørsted, at the Boys and Girls Club of Bellport on July 17. According to the governor’s office, the Sunrise Wind project will support more than 800 direct jobs during the construction phase of the project and will spur economic benefits from the Capital Region to Long Island, including a $700 million investment in Suffolk County alone.
The project will be located approximately 30 miles east of Montauk, New York, with an approved transmission route connecting to the State’s electricity grid at the Holbrook Substation in the Town of Brookhaven.
Once completed, the project will provide enough clean energy to power approximately 600,000 New York homes, according to Hochul.
“We’re growing New York’s green economy, building clean energy, and expanding economic opportunities for all New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement. “By breaking ground on Sunrise Wind and advancing the next wave of offshore wind projects, New York is passing a tremendous milestone to combat climate change. These projects will create good-paying union jobs and demonstrate that New York is leading the nation to build the offshore wind industry.”
However, DiNapoli released an audit on the same day which found inadequate planning, monitoring and assessment of risks and challenges in the PSC’s efforts to help the state meet the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s (Climate Act) targets, which seek 70% renewably sourced electricity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2040.
The audit also showed that, while the PSC and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) have taken considerable steps in planning for New York State’s transition to renewable energy, they both must take stronger action to meet the state’s clean energy goals.
“New York is moving in the right direction to transition to renewable energy, but we found better planning, monitoring of progress and timely assessment of risks by PSC is needed to achieve our ambitious clean energy goals,” DiNapoli stated. “New York has been a leader in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the threats caused by climate change, and identifying existing and emerging challenges will improve the likelihood that we succeed.”
DiNapoli recommended that NYSERDA, which accepted the comptroller’s recommendations, take steps to ensure proposals for other clean energy projects, are evaluated consistently and contracts are awarded to the most qualified applicants. Hochul also announced the issuance of New York’s fifth offshore wind solicitation to advance the next wave of clean energy development projects off the state’s coast, with final proposals due on September 9.
NYSERDA spokesperson Tania Allard told Long Island Life & Politics that the comptroller’s findings will not impact the Sunrise Wind project.
“We are pleased that the Comptroller has found NYSERDA to be in full compliance with all New York State Public Service Commission orders, and we appreciate their recommendations to improve our recordkeeping, which we have already implemented,” Allard said in a statement.
DiNapoli’s criticism of the PSC was more pointed. He said the agency, which is responsible for establishing and reviewing the state’s renewable energy program per the Climate Act, at times used outdated data and wrong calculations to determine if the state could reach its goals of 70% renewable sourced electricity by 2030. This may result in driving up demand and supply for clean energy. The PSC has challenged this finding.
The PSC did not take into full account other potential risks and did not consider certain challenges that could delay meeting the state’s clean energy targets, according to the audit. For example, according to the Independent System Operator, the state would need new technology not yet developed to account for the weather-related intermittency of renewables, as well as expanded transmission capability to get clean energy to consumers, to achieve the 2040 goal of 100% renewable statewide electric generation.
The audit found that the PSC did not develop a back-up plan if the Climate Act’s goals were not met within prescribed timeframes, except for the continued reliance on fossil fuels, including “peaker plants,” which generally operate at a higher monetary and environmental cost.
The auditors also determined that the PSC did not plan properly for the historical project cancellation rate. As of April 2023, there were 230 large-scale renewable projects awarded contracts within the Climate Act program, and 28 projects were canceled from 2005 to 2023. Of the remaining 202 projects, only 30% were completed, and on average it takes five years for a large-scale renewable project to be up and running, as a 2030 deadline looms to achieve 70% renewably sourced electricity.
The PSC also did not fully plan for expiring contracts, which could lead to higher costs. Most contracts for renewable energy sources have a 10- to 20-year span. Between 2007 and 2022, 81 contracts expired, which could lead to New York paying more than the original price once the contract expires.
The PSC did not reasonably estimate or verify other entities’ estimates of the cost of the transition to renewable energy, the audit reported. Undertaking a project without knowing the costs increases the risk that the project will not succeed. The absence of cost estimates also makes it difficult, if not impossible, to assess its impact on New Yorkers, including those who are currently struggling to pay their utility bills and who have faced rising costs over the past two decades.
While PSC officials stated that they expect the cost for renewable energy to decrease as time goes on, the agency did not produce an analysis that demonstrated how quickly they expect these costs to decline, according to the audit.
Lastly, the auditors identified other factors that could delay achievement of the Climate Act goals, including increasingly severe weather, renewable electricity demands, a delayed Champlain Hudson Power Express line and potential limitations on the hydroelectric power it is expected to provide, and material availability and supply chain issues.
“While the PSC is not solely responsible for ensuring the state is prepared to meet the Climate Act’s goals, it should discuss the potential effects of these issues with the agencies responsible for ensuring a smooth transition, determine the effects of these concerns and include this information in its projections to increase the likelihood of meeting the Climate Act’s goals,” the audit stated.
DiNapoli’s audit made the following recommendations to the PSC:
- Begin a comprehensive review of the Climate Act, including an assessment of progress towards the goals and annual funding commitments and expenditures
- Analyze and address existing and emerging risks and known issues on a continual basis to minimize the impact on the state’s ability to meet Climate Act goals
- Provide a more accurate representation of the likelihood of meeting targets by assessing expected renewable energy generation and timing of projects not yet operable
- Perform a detailed analysis of cost estimates and periodically report results to the public, and assess the extent to which ratepayers will be responsible for Climate Act implementation costs.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the PSC for comment. James Denn, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Services (DPS), said in a statement, “DPS is pleased to note that [the] OSC [Office of the State Comptroller] found that the PSC and NYSERDA have taken considerable steps to transition to renewable energy in compliance with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and Clean Energy Standard (CES) but is disappointed that OSC overlooks several significant steps taken and factors that have impacted progress to date.”
Denn added that, in the five years since the CLCPA was enacted, the PSC modified the existing CES to comply with the law; directed NYSERDA to continue undertaking solicitations for new renewable projects as market conditions changed beyond the state’s control; approved $5 billion in transmission investments to support renewable projects; and worked with federal, State and local governments on renewable energy initiatives that have reduced the ratepayer costs of complying with CLCPA, which, he said, potentially saved ratepayers billions of dollars.
The PSC partnered with the state Legislature to streamline the siting laws for renewables and transmission projects, advanced critical planning proceedings to ensure the energy transition is done “in a safe and reliable manner,” and expanded utility affordability initiatives, Denn said. “Much of this work appears to have been discounted in the OSC report, and the Department’s response highlights several instances where it disagrees with OSC’s findings.”