Elmira, N.Y., December 9--State Senator Tom O'Mara (R,C-Big Flats) renewed his warnings following today's move by New York's "Climate Action Council" (CAC) to approve a final plan to impose far-reaching clean energy mandates on all New Yorkers.

The CAC met in Albany earlier today to vote on and approve its final draft plan to implement the nation’s most aggressive set of short- and long-term renewable energy mandates. The council was created under a 2019 law, the “Climate Leadership and Climate Protection Act” (CLCPA), enacted by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature’s Democrat majorities. When she took the reins after Cuomo resigned, O’Mara said that  Governor Kathy Hochul continued full speed ahead on this radical remaking of energy policy.

Among many recommendations, the CAC’s plan calls for:

• No natural gas within newly constructed buildings, beginning in 2025;
• No new gas service to existing buildings, beginning in 2030;
• No replacement natural gas appliances for home heating, cooking, water heating, clothes drying beginning in 2035;
• No gasoline-automobile sales by 2035; and
• Installing onsite solar or joining a community renewables program by 2040.

Following today’s release of the CAC’s final draft plan, O’Mara released the following statement:

“Governor Hochul’s ambition to impose far-reaching clean energy mandates on all New Yorkers keeps moving forward, yet her unwillingness to explain how much it will cost or how the state intends to pay for it remains shocking. Consumers have no idea what’s coming. The Climate Action Council’s plan has never been accompanied by any cost-benefit analysis of the impact of these actions on energy affordability, reliability, or sustainability.

“I have joined legislative colleagues and many others over the past three years to sound the alarm, particularly over how these irrational and unsustainable mandates will come at great costs and consequences. Far too many New Yorkers remain in the dark about these potential costs and consequences, largely because Governor Hochul and her clean energy czars either don’t truly know or really don’t want to shine any light on it.

"The plan will require a total electric grid generation capacity of 111 gigawatts (GW) including 95GW of new, not currently existing generation. It further calls for 27GW of dispatchable zero emissions generation, none of which exists today, nor does the technology, nor does the plan even define what zero emissions generation can be. To put this massive generation capacity buildout in perspective, since 1999, New York State has only added 12.9GW of new generation capacity.

“Many of us in the Senate and Assembly Republican conferences have steadfastly highlighted the plan’s extreme efforts to eliminate reliable, affordable sources of energy that are vital for the citizens and communities we represent. We have also fully encouraged New York’s past efforts to increase cleaner and renewable power, efforts that have been astoundingly successful. New York State is already a national and worldwide leader accounting for just 0.4% of global carbon emissions. Nevertheless, New York’s ongoing leap into the energy unknown will have no impact on the actions of neighboring states or, even more critically, on China, India, or Russia, which account for 40% of global emissions. In other words, even if New York State does reach zero emissions, there will be zero impact on our own climate or the global climate at large, yet all New Yorkers will pay a heavy, heavy price.

“While I believe New York State should continue to be a leader on reducing emissions, it remains important to keep sounding the alarm that the state’s strategy as it stands is not realistic or achievable, and unreasonably risks energy grid reliability and affordability.

“It remains important for more citizens, communities, businesses, families, and workers to fully understand where New York’s energy future is headed and to demand a desperately needed rethinking and slowing down of this process.”