Doreen Harris & Basil Seggos, the authors, at a climate conference (photo: NYS DEC)
One month ago, national progress on climate change collapsed on the heels of an adverse Supreme Court ruling, followed by apparent withdrawal of Congress from meeting this urgent moment. In a dramatic turn, however, President Biden, Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and Democrats in Congress achieved the signing of the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
This game-changing new law, committing a record $369 billion in investments and tax credits to combat climate change, is by far the largest climate package in U.S. history. The IRA directs critical resources to just about every sector of the economy and restores American leadership at the forefront of this global challenge. What a difference a month makes.
As leaders of New York’s clean energy and environmental protection agencies and co-chairs of the state’s Climate Action Council, we have known that the best chance for the state’s bold ambitions to succeed depend upon strong alignment with federal policy and support. Now, we have that.
The federal actions taken this year alone through the IRA, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act collectively represent a $500 billion investment in a green economy, tripling the federal government’s average annual climate spending.
This breakthrough action not only establishes a national framework for the country to address the challenges of climate change, but it also provides a significant financial reinforcement to our efforts already underway in realizing the aggressive goals of the state’s Climate Act. New York, long recognized as a national leader in advancing clean energy solutions across all sectors of our economy, is uniquely poised to capitalize on these federal investments for the benefit of all New Yorkers.
The climate crisis is already costing our nation with record droughts, severe weather damage, and impacts to the health of our people and economy. From Superstorm Sandy ten years ago to Hurricane Ida last August, severe weather events that are a result of the climate crisis are fueling nearly $100 billion in property damage in New York alone. Based on recent trends, every second we fail to act on climate comes with a $4,700 cost from extreme weather impacts. And we know that disadvantaged communities, those who have lower incomes, immigrant communities, people with underlying health conditions, and other vulnerable populations, are often impacted first and worst. Doing nothing is not an option.
New York’s detailed analysis has revealed that the cost of inaction exceeds the cost of action by more than $90 billion. Thankfully, we’re among the national leaders on renewable energy development — first in offshore wind and first in community solar. Our renewable pipeline of projects will deliver over 14,200 megawatts of clean power to the grid, powering over 66% of New York’s electricity.
These investments are supporting nearly 158,000 clean energy jobs, with an expected 250,000 additional jobs created by 2030. Significant investments will be required to achieve the New York Climate Act’s greenhouse gas emission limits, but these investments are accompanied by even greater external benefits and the opportunity to create hundreds of thousands of good-paying, middle-class, and union jobs. Under the leadership of Governor Kathy Hochul and with support and partnership from the federal government, we can work to reduce potential challenges of this transition for New Yorkers.
The alignment between the state’s Climate Act and the federal IRA will create even more leverage for the clean energy projects that are advanced here in New York. The IRA provides unprecedented funding to reduce consumer energy costs, slash carbon emissions and pollution, ensure energy security and resilience, increase energy innovation and domestic manufacturing, and expand the economy and advance environmental justice.
There are so many sectors of the economy and society that stand to benefit from these federal dollars. The bill includes billions in financial incentives aimed at making clean energy options more affordable for consumers, with a particular focus on those who are lower- to middle-income, an important tenet of our Climate Act. The IRA includes tens of billions to support clean energy manufacturing in the U.S., with the goal of easing inflation and reducing the costs associated with clean energy options in the longer term while bringing forward parallel commitments to ensure we are creating good paying green jobs, also key priorities for New York.
And, critically, the IRA provides more than $60 billion for programs in disadvantaged communities. These investments will build upon similar frameworks in New York that are prioritizing and bringing forward investments in underserved communities. Importantly, New York’s commitment ensures that disadvantaged communities experience our goal of 40% of the benefits of our investments as part of the clean energy transition.
The IRA represents a generational opportunity for New York to partner with the federal government on near-term actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030. However, our collective efforts can’t stop there. In New York, we are focused on pushing even further with a goal of an 85% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050. New York has a head start, and this is only the beginning. Together, we will make certain America does not miss the mark to preserve and protect our planet and our people. The future is clean, green, and bright.
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Doreen M. Harris is President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority. Basil Seggos is Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. They are the Co-Chairs of New York’s Climate Action Council. On Twitter @Doreen_M_Harris of @NYSERDA & @BasilSeggos of @NYSDEC.
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Solar power in New York (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)
When Joe Biden signed the climate bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) this past week, he obliterated the last feeble objection to expanding public ownership of renewable energy generation in New York State, a critical step to reducing fossil fuel emissions and making energy more affordable.
But the state authority tasked with implementing public power, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), must be rebuilt under new leadership to have the vision, capacity, and management excellence to rise to meet the existential threat of climate change and deliver the promise of public renewables.
At issue is the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA), a bill to enable NYPA to build and own more clean, renewable energy generation. The legislation passed the State Senate in June and in July was the topic of an unusual post-session Assembly hearing at which the interim head of NYPA, Justin Driscoll, said the agency couldn’t handle what was being asked of it under the bill. Under his anemic leadership, that damning self-assessment is likely true; Governor Kathy Hochul must dump Driscoll and nominate instead a talented and ambitious NYPA President and CEO who is up to the task of bringing New York State’s power system into the twenty-first century.
NYPA is the obvious vehicle for expanding renewable power in New York. Founded by FDR in 1931, it is a massive state agency – the largest public power entity in the U.S. – with almost $3 billion in annual operating revenues. NYPA currently generates a quarter of New York’s electricity, 88% of it from renewable hydropower, and owns a third of our transmission infrastructure. Though almost a century old, NYPA has a proud history of innovation and has put the transition to a carbon-free economy at the heart of its mission. But under current leadership, the agency has atrophied when it should grow stronger and shrunk from challenges rather than rising to them.
Driscoll’s main argument against expanding NYPA’s renewable energy portfolio was that the finances didn’t pencil out: while private companies get incentives and tax breaks for building renewables, NYPA, as a not-for-profit state authority, does not. But the federal climate bill now extends comparable incentives to non-profit entities through the mechanism of direct pay, in addition to a raft of subsidies for efficiency upgrades and electrification.
And, because NYPA doesn’t extract profits from ratepayers’ bills to enrich shareholders, NYPA power is more affordable. The BPRA prioritizes delivering its cheap electricity to government-owned buildings, such as schools and affordable housing, reducing the operating costs of these public properties, saving taxpayer dollars. Low-income New Yorkers would also be able to access low-cost NYPA energy through a program modeled on the very successful ReCharge NY.
The Build Public Renewables Act is revenue neutral: New York Power Authority will raise capital for building new renewable power plants through bond sales – its bond rating is excellent – and revenues from selling the affordable electricity it generates.
Public ownership is essential to a just renewable energy system. Representatives of New York state agencies testified at the Assembly BPRA hearing that the private sector might be able to build sufficient renewable energy plants to meet the goals set by 2019’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). But the development of privately-owned power plants depends on market conditions, the cost of capital, politically vulnerable tax breaks and incentives, and other unpredictable factors.
Even if every proposed renewable project now in the pipeline were built, which is unlikely at best, New York would fall short of the 70% renewables by 2030 mandated by the CLCPA. To date only 4% of energy in New York is from wind and solar. Regardless of what is “in the pipeline,” private developers are simply not meeting the need, and they shouldn’t be rewarded for that failure with protection from public competition. The BPRA ensures that our state will meet or exceed the goals mandated by the climate law: if, after an annual review, private sector renewable developers are found to be underperforming, NYPA would step in and build the clean, renewable power needed to meet the state climate mandate, filling in the gaps left by private investor-driven projects.
NYPA is unique in that it is both a generator and transmitter of energy. The two functions were separated in the U.S. in 1978 by PURPA, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, in response to the oil crisis and U.S. reliance on imported fossil fuels for energy. The impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine on gas and oil prices underscores the economic risks inherent in international fossil fuel markets. But renewable energy generated on domestic land and coastal waters is free from those concerns.
NYPA’s Vision 2030 Plan outlines its goal to become the leading electricity transmission provider in New York State. Increasing NYPA’s renewable generation capacity as it expands its transmission infrastructure is the key to the rapid construction and transmission of reliable, affordable, renewable, and independent energy in New York.
We don’t just need to build public renewables: we need to rebuild NYPA with visionary leadership that has expertise in engineering and new energy technologies and a commitment to a just transition from fossil fuels. Union representatives at the hearing called by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie described NYPA’s failure to work with unions in good faith, with years passing without labor contracts being signed. The agency has a reputation for a stifling internal culture that drives away talent. It needs a CEO with a commitment to growing NYPA, serving the public, and restoring both employee morale and public confidence in the Authority.
To meet the moment and to be competitive in the talent search and hiring surge that the Inflation Reduction Act and Build Public Renewables Act will trigger, NYPA needs to improve its employment practices with respect to compensation, benefits, culture, and equity, and revitalize the organizational culture and staff morale.
Despite the decent benefits offered to employees of state agencies, NYPA has trouble attracting talent and currently has over 100 openings. Salary tiers are typically lower than those of other employers in the field, and NYPA often loses candidates to investor-owned utilities like ConEd. Employees are required to go to the office at least some days, even for jobs that could be fully remote. Many employees report there isn’t enough growth potential, and that the authority doesn’t actively seek to diversify its staff through targeted outreach and training.
Finally, justice must be at the center of efforts to meet the CLCPA mandates and slow the warming of the climate, and it is at the center of the BPRA. The legislation prioritizes disadvantaged communities, public housing, and public schools for the benefits of public power, which include low-cost electricity, comfortable and reliable heat pump heating and cooling, training and union apprenticeships, mold and lead remediation, and efficiency programs.
The bill was written in consultation with labor – Pat Guidice, business manager of IBEW local 1049 and head of the IBEW state utility labor council, said at the hearing that BPRA has “the best labor language he’s ever seen” in a piece of legislation. It requires all work projects, including contractors and subcontractors, to utilize project labor agreements and prioritize training for workers who have lost jobs in the fossil fuel industry.
The climate emergency is here, now, and getting worse faster than scientists anticipated. Limiting the most catastrophic effects demands serious action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses as rapidly and completely as possible. The necessary scale and speed of the infrastructural and technological transition requires leadership, coordination, financing, and management for the benefit of the people can only be achieved by government: we must demand that our legislators and governor rise to meet the moment.
We cannot resolve the existential crisis facing us in the 21st century with 20th century infrastructure and ideas. The governor must replace Driscoll and rehabilitate NYPA so that New York can lead an energy moonshot, a World War II-level mobilization to end our reliance on fossil fuels and slow the burning of the planet. Though the Inflation Reduction Act is an important turning point, the federal government, hobbled by partisan politics and the influence of the fossil fuel industry, can’t do that now: New York can, and New York must lead.
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Jeanne Bergman, PHD, is Senior Energy Policy Advisor with Sane Energy Project. Sarahana Shrestha is the Democratic Nominee for the 103rd Assembly District. On Twitter @jbergmannyc & @sarahana.
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Suraj Patel on the campaign trail (photo: @surajpatelnyc)
This month, Suraj Patel is poised to lose his third consecutive New York congressional primary. Though I won’t be voting for him, as an Indian-American politico Patel’s candidacy this time around has meant more to me than I anticipated.
I first encountered Patel as part of a freelance project for The Juggernaut about “The South Asian Americans Claiming Political Capital.” For the assignment I cataloged and interviewed a new wave of South Asian Americans running for office across the country in the wake of Trumpism. Patel was running for a second time against New York political icon Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
At the time, Patel was one of the more polished candidates I spoke with. Still, his campaign reeked of a millennial emptiness. It was as though in a post-Obama, post-AOC, progressive landscape with an openly xenophobic president at the helm, Patel had decided the timing was right to run — ready or not.
For example, in one article I came across from his first race, in 2018, Patel appeared determined to paint Maloney as a white nationalist when she pointed out that his donors included “a huge amount of the name Patel” and people from Suraj’s home state of Indiana (where Patel’s family operates a successful hotel development business). Patel claimed the comment was a racist dog-whistle, while Maloney’s camp insisted it was merely a comment to point out Patel’s out-of-state family support. As no stranger to othering microaggressions, to me the episode appeared contrived to fit the zeitgeist.
Worse, looking further into Patel, most of the coverage of his campaigns seemed to paint him as somewhat off. With so few Indian Americans represented in mainstream politics, I’ll admit some borderline communal embarrassment. Patel was called out for a campaign tactic that used fake online dating profiles on platforms like Grindr and Tinder to recruit supporters. Maloney then ran an ad painting him as “creepy.” His critics seized on an inappropriate Facebook exchange from several years prior that he had with a friend about a young female athlete.
After an incredibly close race in 2020, Patel filed a lawsuit to challenge the vote count naming the Board of Elections and Maloney as defendants. It was an arguably noble effort, but appeared tone-deaf as the coronavirus pandemic raged on and national democracy hung in the balance. Perhaps an unfair perception, but Trump even weaponized the controversy to support his false claims about voter fraud.
When Patel unveiled failed New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang as an early high profile endorsement for this year’s bid, I was ready to expect more of the same. Yet, over the past few weeks, to my surprise, I’ve felt pride watching Patel make his case to voters.
Through my window I see his campaign poster on a vacant storefront across the street. “Change the vibes,” it reads with a floral pattern that mirrors the campaign’s new energy. It is clear Patel has found his own voice in this campaign. Instead of being called creepy, this go-around Patel has developed something of a fan-base. “Not that it matters but MY GOD is Suraj Patel hot,” tweeted one admirer. His voluminous hair became the subject of positive internet attention after the first primary debate. Media celebrated his recent Hallmark-esque engagement, bridge photoshoot and all.
Form aside, Patel’s substance has also shifted for the better.
He comes off less entitled to a congressional seat simply because he is young, brown, and worked for Obama and more genuine in his connection with the community. His Instagram story is an example. It constantly features Patel engaging local business owners with a vibrancy that is missing from the Maloney and Nadler campaigns. In one example, Patel hops into the ice cream truck of a struggling local vendor to make his campaign pitch.
He also interviewed with and earned the endorsement of popular Indian-American social media influencer Zarna Garg. Aligning with Garg, a New York City-based comedian billed by CNBC as “the zany, outspoken voice of the Indian-American woman,” reflects the agility of Patel’s latest campaign. No longer over-reliant on progressive buzzwords, Patel has also found a way to show why his representation would matter — instead of just telling.
“I grew up folding The New York Times at my family’s bodega, it was the honor of a lifetime to sit for this interview for the first time ever,” he tweeted, sharing the transcript of his meeting with the Times editorial board (which endorsed Nadler). Growing up on stories of how my grandparents, small business owners themselves, came here from India with just $25 in their pockets the sentiment struck a chord.
The Times editorial board interview came not long after a reported piece in the same paper that showcased Patel’s energy, enthusiasm, and work ethic.
Patel acknowledges that one benefit of his perennial candidacy is that he has been able to learn from experience. In a recent interview on Gotham Gazette’s Max Politics podcast he reflected, saying of past campaigns, “we took on all these issues that were in vogue at the time that perhaps weren’t actually my core issues…trying to run as this institutional sort-of progressive thing you’re not.” This time, he said, he’s running on his lived experience and his many substantive ideas for tackling problems faced by New Yorkers and Americans.
Patel also notes he has gained perspective from his past failures. “Losing is a remarkable teacher,” he told podcast host Ben Max, editor of Gotham Gazette, “...as a person who hasn’t really lost much in life up until that point, the humility-gain from that was instrumental.”
To those who might criticize Patel's live-and-learn approach to running for office, it's worth considering that candidates from underrepresented backgrounds like Patel's often lack the mentorship or institutional supports that white and well-connected candidates benefit from.
I’m not voting for Patel in this primary because I don’t agree with his ideas, nor do I think he has made the case for replacing both Nadler and Maloney, two members of Congress with seniority. Yet, it means a lot to me — and others who look like me — that this third time around he has run a campaign he can be proud of and charmed New York City.
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Kaivan Shroff serves as senior advisor to the Institute for Education, a D.C. non-profit. He is a political commentator and alumnus of the Hillary for America Digital Team with degrees from Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School, Yale School of Management, and Brown University.
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