16 Senators Urge Strong Regulations To End Coal Generation In New York

Albany - State Senator Liz Krueger and 15 other Senators released a letter today to Governor Andrew Cuomo, calling for the state Department of Environmental Conservation to finalize strong regulations that will ensure New York's dirtiest energy generation sources can responsibly retire without prolonging the state's reliance on expensive and unsafe fossil fules or biomass. The full text of the letter can be read below, and is also available here.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Executive Chamber
State Capital
Albany, NY 12224

July 26, 2018

Dear Governor Cuomo:

We are pleased to see that Department of Environmental Conservation has finally proposed regulations intended to achieve your 2016 commitment to close New York’s remaining coal-fired power plants.  Doing so will help achieve the cuts in climate pollution that we need to if we are to protect our people and places from the worst impacts of climate change while providing significant economic and public health benefits to the State.   

We write today to urge you to make sure the DEC expeditiously finalizes the proposed CO2 Emissions Standards for Major Electric Generating Facilities and urge that you press the agency to take steps to ensure that New York’s dirtiest energy generation sources can responsibly retire without prolonging the state’s reliance on expensive and unsafe fossil fuels or biomass.

To ensure the protection of the climate and public health, it is critical that the final regulation ensure that plants affected by the proposed CO2 emissions standards are able to responsibly retire without the need for expensive reliability must run agreements and, if not electing to retire, do not simply trade one dangerous, dirty fuel for another. To avoid these outcomes, it is important that the New York Independent System Operator and local transmission owners fully evaluate and proactively plan for any reliability needs associated with possible plant retirements. In addition, it is vital that these regulations not result in an increase in dirty fossil fuel or biomass generation in New York. With its ambitious Clean Energy Standard and new energy efficiency goals, there is simply no need for additional carbon-intensive generation sources in the State. This regulation should pave the way for a cleaner, 100% renewable-based generation portfolio that we want for New York.

As your administration continues to ramp up on family-supporting jobs within the renewable energy industry – it is also important to acknowledge and address the impacts that retiring dirty power plants will have. We commend you for requiring all large scale renewable energy projects pay prevailing wage and substantial investments in renewable energy jobs training. We urge you to work with the Legislature as part of 2019-2020 SFY budget process to create a robust policy and funding framework that will provide a glide path for workers and communities from the myriad power plant retirements that will occur as we transition to renewable energy.   

Thank you for your attention to our positions.

Sincerely,

Liz Krueger
Marisol Alcantara
Tony Avella
John E. Brooks
David Carlucci
Martin Malavé Dilan
Brad Hoylman
Brian Kavanagh
Velmanette Montgomery
Kevin Parker
Jose Peralta
Gustavo Rivera
Luis R. Sepúlveda
José M. Serrano
Toby Ann Stavisky
David J. Valesky