‘A Fundamental Shift’: New York’s Clean Energy Plans Move Ahead

*Reposted from Gotham Gazette. Written by  Lara Dreux. (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)*

New York is well on its way to meeting its ambitious clean energy goals, according to one of the top state officials charged with implementation, and there are several major projects in the offing essential to moving from fossil fuels to a combination of wind, water, and solar power.

Doreen Harris, the president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA), recently joined Gotham Gazette’s Max Politics podcast to discuss the state’s clean energy goals and the path to meeting them, including some of the largest opportunities and challenges in the way.

NYSERDA and the rest of state government, in partnership with local and federal governments and the private sector, must meet the goals laid out in New York’s landmark 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Per the CLCPA, New York must achieve a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and a 85% greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2050, both relative to 1990 levels; and 100% zero-emission electricity across the state by 2040, with 70% renewable energy use by 2030.

“It sets a level of ambition that necessitates us to really think about every aspect of our economy very differently for the good,” Harris told podcast host Ben Max, editor of Gotham Gazette, of the CLCPA. “Both for our health, our climate and also our economy. It comes down to a fundamental shift in a lot of ways that we live and work.”

For entire article visit: https://www.gothamgazette.com/state/11133-fundamental-shift-new-york-cl…