The state Public Service Commission has
approved a 10-year, $5 billion Clean Energy
Fund designed to accelerate the growth of
New York’s clean energy economy, address
climate change, strengthen resiliency in the
face of extreme weather and lower energy
bills for New Yorkers starting this year.
Additionally, the fund will attract and
leverage third-party capital to support the
governor’s aggressive Clean Energy Standard,
one of the nation’s most ambitious goals to
meet 50 percent of our electricity needs with
renewable resources by 2030, officials said.
“New York is a national leader in combating
climate change and growing the clean
energy economy and today we are taking the
next big step forward,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo
said. “This unparalleled $5 billion investment
will leverage more than $29 billion in
private sector funding and open the door to
new clean energy opportunities for years to
come. We are raising the bar when it comes
to increasing the use of renewable energy and
reducing harmful carbon emissions, and I am
proud that the Empire State is continuing to
set the example for the future.”
The fund, to be administered by the New
York State Energy Research and Development
Authority, builds on the progress the state is
already making in developing a robust clean
tech sector. It is projected to result in more
than $39 billion in customer bill savings over
the next 10 years through innovative projects
and private-public partnerships focused on
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, making
energy more affordable through energy efficiency
and renewable energy, and mobilizing
private-sector capital.
In addition to the $39 billion in overall
customer savings, as a result of this Public
Service Commission action, consumers and
businesses are expected to see lower costs of
$1.5 billion over the next 10 years, including
an immediate reduction of $91 million from
2016 electric and gas costs compared to 2015.
State officials said consumers and businesses
can expect to see lower utility costs
this year.
The fund will operate four major portfolios:
Market Development ($2.7 billion): NYSERDA
will undertake a variety of activities
to stimulate consumer demand for clean
energy alternatives, energy efficiency while
helping to build clean energy supply chains
to meet that growing customer demand.
At least $234.5 million must be invested
in initiatives that benefit low-to-moderate
income New Yorkers during the first three
years of the fund;
NY-Sun ($961 million): The fund finalizes
the funding and confirms the longterm
commitment for NY-Sun and for the
growing solar electric market and industry
in New York State, by supporting rapid and
continued cost reduction. This will continue
to make solar energy more affordable and accessible
for residential and commercial solar
customers, and will drive the growth of the
solar industry in New York, which currently
employs more than 7,000 people across 538
solar companies in the state;
NY Green Bank ($782 million): To leverage
private sector investment, expand the
availability of capital and increase confidence
in lending for clean energy projects, the
fund will complete the capitalization of the
innovative NY Green Bank. The fund will
increase NY Green Bank's total investment
to $1 billion and will leverage an estimated
$8 billion in private investment;
Innovation and Research ($717 million):
As New York State moves to a cleaner, more
efficient, and more widely distributed energy
system, the Clean Energy Fund will help spur
innovations through research and technology
development that will drive clean-tech business
growth and job creation while providing
more energy choices to residential and business
customers.
New York State Chairman of Energy and
Finance Richard Kauffman said the fund
"will achieve greater customer savings and
stimulate more demand for–and private
investment in–renewable energy and energy
efficiency projects, furthering the governor's
Reforming the Energy Vision strategy. By acting
today and not tomorrow, we ensure our
grid will be modernized and strengthened as
we also lower New Yorker's electricity rates
by implementing the most cost-effective
solutions to meet our challenges."
State Public Service Commission Chair
Audrey Zibelman said, "Under the Clean
Energy Fund, every dollar of clean energy
spending will achieve greater savings and
enhance private investment, spurring innovation
and new technologies that will bring
more choices and value to New York consumers.
We will build on the success of previous
energy-development programs in a way that
meets evolving customer and market needs
and transition away from approaches that rely
almost exclusively on ratepayer subsidies,
which is unsustainable if we are to meet our
ambitious goals in the long-run."
In the Clean Energy Fund order, the Commission
also allocated $150 million for the
development of new Large Scale Renewables
power projects in 2016. As the Commission
develops a Clean Energy Standard, it will
create new incentives for large scale renewables
and a new mechanism to prevent the
premature retirement of safe, upstate nuclear
power plants during this transition.