As Gov. Kathy Hochul stated last week, it appears that the state is changing its policy around renewable energy. 

WGRZ reported that the governor recently acknowledged that the economic environment has changed since 2019 when New York’s aggressive Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) was passed under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“We cannot accomplish what those objectives were back in before I became governor in a time frame that’s not going to hurt ratepayers,” Hochul said. “So, we’re slowing things down.”

The objectives of the CLCPA include reaching 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040. 

Doreen Harris, president and CEO of NYSERDA, acknowledged the change in policy, telling Capital Tonight that while the achievement of the climate law is still one potential scenario, the state’s emerging draft energy plan also looks at the challenges the law is facing, including roadblocks at the federal level.

Harris was on the show discussing the latest meeting of the New York State Energy Planning Board on June 25 when they discussed pathways that advance the state’s objectives which include affordability, reliability and economic development while supporting equity and a healthy environment. 

The state will issue the latest draft energy plan over the summer and open it up to public comment throughout the fall.  

“Our climate law has had a very important role to play in really building up renewable energy, and the clean energy of the future,” Harris said. “But when we look into the future, it is the case that those resources are taking longer to deploy.”

One of the biggest changes to state energy policy is the acknowledgement that New York will continue relying on fossil fuels for the next 15 years. 

“It is a change,” said Harris. “But it’s an important one because of what we are going for – a reliable grid. And we need to look at a that in a clear-eyed manner as to how to achieve it.”