USA – NEW YORK Trends and Developments Contributed by: Marius Griskonis, Lauren Bachtel, Michael Rodgers and Diana Jeschke, Linklaters
Solar, wind, hydroelectric and other renewable energy will power New York According to the Scoping Plan, New York must deploy clean energy resources, such as land-based wind and solar, offshore wind, hydropower, fuel cells that use renewable fuels, and energy storage, to achieve the Climate Act’s requirements and goals. The Climate Act requires the State to install 10 gigawatts (GW) of distributed solar by 2030 (6 GW had been installed by 2024) and 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035. It is expected that, by 2050, the State will install over 60 GW of utility-scale and distributed solar capacity. With respect to transport fuel, the new budget recom- mends that the State replace existing vehicles that run on gasoline or diesel with battery-electric, hydro- gen fuel-cell, or other future zero-emission propulsion technologies. The State should also emphasise fuel cells using biogas in waste transportation, electric co- location, and cogeneration opportunities for energy- and heat-intensive industries and other hard-to-elec- trify users. It also requires new off-road vehicles and equipment sold in New York to be zero-emission by 2035 and new medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles to be zero-emission by 2045. Energy storage and green hydrogen will ensure grid reliability The State’s 6 GW Energy Storage Roadmap (the “Roadmap”) provides recommendations to achieve 6 GW of energy storage by 2030, including a new Bulk Energy Storage programme utilising an Index Stor- age Credit (ISC) mechanism, and directs NYSERDA to conduct at least three bulk energy storage pro- curements. In March 2025, the PSC adopted the Bulk Energy Storage Program Implementation Plan, which describes the ISC mechanism as market-based and modelled on the RECs and offshore wind renewable energy certificates (ORECs) utilised in NYSERDA’s large-scale renewables procurements. The ISC provides project developers with a hedge, thereby improving revenue certainty and the pro- ject’s financeability. Under a competitive solicitation in which developers bid a strike price intended to approximate the revenue threshold for project viability, NYSERDA will pay the developer if the strike price is above the reference price derived from market price
New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act Clean energy goals and the Scoping Plan The 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Pro- tection Act (the “Climate Act”), which addresses climate change and aims to achieve net-zero emis- sions in New York State (the “State”), was amended in May 2026 with the approval of the State budget to enact practical changes prioritising affordability while continuing the State’s commitment to clean energy and climate goals. The changes included modifying a 2030 mandate to reduce State-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% to a 60% reduction by 2040, both compared to 1990 levels, only to the maxi- mum extent feasible and cost-effective. The measure also de-emphasised the State’s calculation of meth- ane’s global warming impact, aligning with most other states, and ceased accounting for emissions from importing fossil fuels into the State, drawing criticism from climate scientists. However, the goals to achieve a zero-emission electricity system by 2040, to reduce State-wide GHG emissions by 85% compared to 1990 levels by 2050, and for 70% of State-wide elec- tricity to come from renewable energy sources remain unchanged, although the latter will likely be delayed. As of May 2025, among the State’s existing sources of electricity generation, renewable resources accounted for approximately 35.9% of the State’s electricity gen- eration, nuclear resources for approximately 24.8%, and power plants that use fossil fuels for 39.3%. The Climate Act created the Climate Action Council (CAC), which developed a scoping plan (the “Scoping Plan”) to establish a framework for meeting the Climate Act’s targets and GHG emission reductions. The State Comptroller’s 2024 audit found the State is not on track to meet the 2030 targets for reasons including transmission constraints, project cancellations, and expiring contracts and renewable energy certificate (REC) price agreements, and recommended that the Public Service Commission (the PSC) regularly review the Climate Act. The PSC’s most recent biennial review in May 2025 found a 42,145 GWh renewable energy deficit under base case load and recommended add- ing three additional New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) Tier 1 solicita- tions procuring about 5,600 GWh per solicitation in 2027, 2028 and 2029.
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