Green New Deal: help communities closing old power plants
We'll lead the way with the most aggressive environmental agenda, while the federal government taking us backwards from the Paris Accords.
Let's take the next step on the Green New Deal. Let us set the goal: 100 percent clean power by 2040.
We have communities that are closing old, inefficient power plants. It causes a problem because they lose the property taxes from those old plants.
We want those old plants closed, we want more efficient plants, but let's provide a fund that gives the communities the transition from the loss of that property tax revenue and that's a
$70 million property tax compensation fund so those communities don't shoulder the burden themselves.
One of the most effective programs to make our state cleaner and greener is the Environmental Protection Fund. I propose raising the Environmental Protection Fund to the highest level in history--$300 million. We previously set a
goal that 50 percent of New York's energy must come from renewables by 2030. This year it's no longer a goal--it is now a requirement. Further, we will eliminate all use of coal in New York State by 2020.
Source: 2016 State of the State speech to New York legislature
, Jan 13, 2016
Led multi-state effort to lower carbon emissions by 45%
Governor Cuomo led a multi-state effort to lower carbon emissions by 45 percent through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which also provided $340 over the past three years for clean energy measures, including $100 million to encourage
community-driven smart growth and sustainability plans. Likewise, under Governor Cuomo's leadership, state facilities will lower their energy use by 20 percent, saving taxpayers $50-60 million per year and avoiding as much as
180,000 tons in greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Governor Cuomo also championed a landmark investment in the clean energy economy by launching a $1 billion NY Green Bank to stimulate private sector financing and to facilitate the financing
of creditworthy clean-energy projects in New York State. In addition, the Governor guided another $1 billion through the NY-Sun initiative to promote the wide scale deployment of solar projects throughout the state.
New York Greenbank: $1 billion to spur the clean economy
The economy of tomorrow is the clean tech economy. We all know it, it's a foot race--whatever state, whatever region gets there first wins the prize, and we want it to be New York. We want to create the New York Greenbank, which is a
$1 billion bank to leverage public dollars with private sector matched money to spur the clean economy. We want to extend the
New York's sun solar jobs program at $150 million annually for 10 years to increase solar panel installations for home and business. It's good for the environment and it's good for the economy. We want to create the Charge New York program.
This is the future, my friends, and we want to invest in an electric car network to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, installing a statewide network of charging stations and have New York be one of the forerunners in this race all across the country.
Lower carbon emissions via market-based cap-and-trade system
Governor Cuomo proposes to create a $1 billion NY Green Bank to leverage public dollars with a private-sector match to spur the clean economy. A NY Green Bank offers a cost-effective market mechanism to capitalize on this opportunity, unleashing green
technologies and the many benefits that will come with them. The NY Green Bank staff would also serve a coordinating role to enhance the collective strength of all State clean energy programs, including those outside their immediate purview.
Our state has a track record of being at the forefront of environmental and energy policy innovations. Notable among them is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which lowers carbon emissions through the use of a market-based cap-and-trade system.
The NY Green Bank is another forward-looking way for our state to lead on energy policy and improve our residents' economic prospects and quality of life.
Focus more attention on exploiting our solar potential
Now it is time to focus more attention on exploiting our solar potential. But we need to do this in ways that protect the ratepayer. Solar power is still more expensive per megawatt hour to develop than other renewables. Therefore, we will greatly expand
the state's solar programs, but as we do so we will keep an eye firmly on costs. We will increase competitive procurement of large, commercial-sized solar projects. And we will expand rebate programs for residential and commercial small-to-medium
systems. In its first year, the NY-Sun Initiative will be capable of doubling the customer-sited photovoltaic capacity that was installed in 2011. By 2013, we estimate that NY-Sun will quadruple the 2011 capacity. We will continue to establish New York's
technology leadership in this important emerging market while balancing investments in other renewable resources and protecting the taxpayer. This approach will create jobs, expand solar power, and protect ratepayers--a win, win, win.
New York State produces a substantial amount of low cost hydropower through NYPA for the benefit of the public. While some of this power is used to reduce residential energy bills, the balance is used for economic development.
I will introduce a permanent Power for Jobs program, which ensures predictability and stability of supply with long-term contracts and incorporates efficiency incentives to reward such improvements.
Source: 2011 State of the State speech to New York legislature
, Jan 5, 2011
Comprehensive study before exploring Marcellus Shale
As Governor, Andrew Cuomo will continue to be an environmental champion, by:
Ensuring that, as the State's fiscal position improves, the Environmental Protection Fund ("EPF")--a dedicated fund to protect the environment and enhance our communities
Making sure health and environmental risks are comprehensively studied before natural gas exploration in New York's Marcellus Shale formation occurs.
Source: 2010 gubernatorial campaign website, andrewcuomo.com
, Nov 1, 2010
Our consumption of fossil fuels causes permanent changes
America is at a crossroads. We live in a time of fundamental power shifts and power vacuums, where America is the lone superpower for the 1st time, and is both the tamer and target of an unstable world.
We live in a new information age where the wealth of a country depends more on the fertility of its minds than the fertility of its soil.
We are now saddled with the largest federal budget deficit on record.
There are indications that our consumption and dependence on fossil fuels are causing permanent changes in our climate--perhaps minor and insignificant, perhaps major and devastating.
And many of our most stubborn problems remain--race relations, poverty, failing public education, housing shortages and the widening gulf between the wealthy and everyone else.
Greenhouse gas emissions--principally CO2--have accelerated a global warming trend that threatens our agricultural and tourism industries and produces harmful health effects.
The truth is that technology has provided several ways to increase our energy
supply dramatically while preserving our environment. In New York State, for example, many older power plants remain in operation despite their inefficiency and resultant polluting. A process known as "repowering" is available to retrofit these plants
with new technologies that boost power production while cutting emissions dramatically. Unfortunately, neither states nor the federal government have provided support for repowering by private-sector energy companies during this credit crunch.
To address this problem, our federal and state governments should provide tax credits to existing power plants to offset the costs of repowering older, less efficient power plants with newer, cleaner, more efficient technology.
Letter to Congress supporting renewable energy tax credit.
Cuomo signed American Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Extension
Congressional Summary:Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2016 the tax credit for electricity produced from wind, biomass, geothermal or solar energy, landfill gas, trash, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities.
Proponent's Comments (Governor's Wind Energy Coalition letter of Nov. 15, 2011 signed by 23 governors):Although the tax credit for wind energy has long enjoyed bipartisan support, it is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2012. Wind-related manufacturing is beginning to slow in our states because the credit has not yet been extended. If Congress pursues a last minute approach to the extension, the anticipated interruption of the credit's benefits will result in a significant loss of high-paying jobs in a growing sector of the economy.
We strongly urge Congress to adopt a more consistent and longer-term federal tax policy to support wind energy development, such as H.R. 3307.
The leading wind project developers and manufacturers are slowing their plans for 2013 and beyond due to the current uncertainty. The ripple effect of this slow down means reduced orders for turbines and decreased business for the hundreds of manufacturers who have entered the wind industry in our states. When Congress allowed the tax credit to expire in 1999, 2001, and 2003, the development of new wind installations dropped significantly, between 73% and 93%, and thousands of jobs were lost. Providing renewable energy tax credits in order to provide consistency with conventional energy tax credits is the right policy to move the nation forward in an energy sector that offers global export opportunities and the ability to modernize a segment of our electric production infrastructure.