USA – NEW YORK Trends and Developments Contributed by: Marius Griskonis, Lauren Bachtel, Michael Rodgers and Diana Jeschke, Linklaters
Additionally, the PSC established a new tier of RECs to increase the role of renewable resources and decrease reliance on fossil-fuelled generation within NYC. Following a solicitation, NYSERDA selected two proposals in 2021. One of them, Champlain Hudson Power Express, includes a 1,250-megawatt (“MW”) transmission line from a withdrawal point in Quebec, Canada, to an injection point in Queens, New York, and began operations in May 2026. The other pro- ject, Clean Path New York, terminated its contract with NYSERDA in 2024 and is not moving forward. New York public policy transmission planning process The New York Independent System Operator (NYI- SO) administers transmission system planning, which includes a biennial Public Policy Transmission Plan- ning Process to identify and meet transmission needs driven by public policy to ensure that the high-voltage transmission grid can support the State’s climate poli- cies. Interconnection and transmission planning reforms In response to generator interconnection reforms under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Order No 2023, NYISO restructured its pro- cess for evaluating interconnection requests into a two-phase “cluster” approach for improved procedur- al efficiency. NYISO’s study of the Transitional Cluster is expected to conclude in summer 2026, which is also when the request window to enter the next cycle should open. NYISO is evaluating whether improve- ments to its process for connecting certain larger load facilities, such as data centres, to the transmission system are appropriate and is targeting filing any changes with FERC before 2027. In Order No 1920, FERC directed significant trans- mission planning reforms, and system operators such as NYISO are required to make filings with FERC to implement these long-term reforms by conducting regional transmission planning to identify needs and evaluating and selecting solutions for those needs. NYISO is developing its implementation filings, which may result in considerable procedural changes, with certain provisions addressing interregional coordina- tion due in June 2027. Additional information regard- ing coordination between the CGPP and the NYISO
planning process will be addressed in the future, including through NYISO’s June 2026 FERC filing. Offshore wind Offshore wind is planned to be one of the State’s main sources of electricity to facilitate a 60% reduction in GHG emissions by 2040. The State has one operating offshore wind farm (the South Fork Wind Farm) and two projects under construction (Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind). Six offshore wind projects are in plan- ning and development stages in the New York Bight area; however, project timelines were impacted by the Trump administration (“Administration”) withdrawing all areas of the US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from offshore wind leasing, prohibiting the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) from issuing new or renewed approvals, rights of way, permits, leases, or loans for offshore wind projects (“Wind Memoran- dum”). The US Department of the Interior (DOI) also issued a stop-work order for Empire Wind 1 over federal approval concerns, which was subsequently lifted. The DOI then issued a stop-work order for the nearly completed Revolution Wind project off the Rhode Island and Connecticut coasts, which Ørsted, Con- necticut and Rhode Island challenged, and the court granted a preliminary injunction allowing construction to resume. The Administration separately annulled BOEM’s construction and operation approvals for off- shore wind projects off the Maryland and Massachu- setts coasts. The US District Court for the District of Massachusetts then vacated President Trump’s Wind Memorandum. However, BOEM issued lease-pause orders for all five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction – Empire Wind 1, Revolution Wind, Vineyard Wind 1, Sunrise Wind, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind – citing national security concerns. All project sponsors filed suit, and federal courts granted preliminary injunctions for each project. The Administration has since pivoted to negotiating settlements with offshore wind developers to relin- quish their leases in exchange for lease fee reimburse- ments, contingent on reinvestment in domestic fossil fuel projects. In March 2026, DOI’s settlement with TotalEnergies reimbursed approximately USD1 billion in lease fees in exchange for TotalEnergies relinquish-
439 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook