BILL NUMBER: S6404

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to directing the office
of renewable energy siting, in consultation with the public service
commission, to create a statewide map of all proposed major renewable
energy facility sites and an informational tab that calculates regional
impacts of such proposed sites

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to direct the Office of Renewable Energy
Siting and the Public Service Commission to create a publicly available
map of all approved and proposed renewable energy generation projects
across New. York State in order to understand all regional impacts and
provide real-time tracking of the total amount of solar energy gener-
ation proposed.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

              

Section one directs the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, in consulta-
tion with the Public. Service Commission, to create and post on its
website a continuously updated map of all proposed renewable energy
generation projects being reviewed through the Articles 10 or 94-C proc-
esses in conjunction with all previously approved projects. This map
will be divided into the 10 regions used by the Regional Economic Devel-
opment Councils to understand the regional impacts of renewable energy
developments state-wide. The map will include the approximate size
(acreage) of the project, what the proposed generation capacity of each
project's application is, and clearly show the boundaries of the project
in the municipality where the project is sited.

Additionally, an informational tab will accompany this map and include
each project's total acreage, the acreage of the project being sited on
prime agricultural land, the acreage of the project being sited on open
space, and the acreage of the project being sited on forested lands. The
projects will be organized according to the 10 regions used by the
Regional Economic Development Council.

Section two states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Rural communities face many challenges - they're often economically
disadvantaged with fewer municipal resources - and are frequently
targeted for fast-tracked solar installations. While we must ensure that
the goals set forth in the CLCPA are met, we must also ensure the
protection of our rural communities and natural resources from thought-
less overdevelopment Monitoring and tracking regional impacts are two of
the ways we can meet our climate goals while protecting disadvantaged,
upstate communities from predatory practices.

In order to do this, we must have a comprehensive understanding of solar
and other renewable energy developments state-wide at every step of
their application process, from the notice of intent, through a permit-
ted application. The State must also track the types of land sited for

development - such as farmland, foresdand, and open space - to under-
stand true regional impacts.

Currently, there is no state-wide map tracking where renewable energy
generating facilities are proposed to be developed. This creates an
information gap where the public and State leaders do not know where
projects will be located, what types of land the project will be devel-
oped on, and what the adverse impacts are to site large-scale develop-
ments on these lands. Without a map and accompanying data, it is impos-
sible to determine the true and impending adverse impacts on our
statewide food supply, our finite natural resources, and the communities
that are set to host them.

This map will further allow for real-time tracking of the total amount
of solar energy generation being proposed and help make sure that we are
on track to meet these critical goals. We cannot reliably know that our
CLCPA goals are on track to be met if the State entities that are tasked
with considering and approving these projects are not tracking the
holistic landscape of projects both approved and proposed. With this map
and accompanying informational tab, the public and State leaders will
have an understanding of all solar projects at every stage of their
development within New York State.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to paragraph (c) of
subdivision 5 of section 94-c of the executive law made by section one
of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be
deemed repealed therewith. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
completed on or before such effective date.