On August 5 Governor Hochul announced a Future Energy Economy Summit that will “gather feedback on strategies to accelerate renewable energy deployment and explore the potential role of next generation clean energy technologies”. I described my initial thoughts on the summit and followed up with a second pre-meeting post. This post describes my initial reaction to the meeting. I will follow up with another post when the meeting recording is posted.
I have followed the Climate Act since it was first proposed, submitted comments on the Climate Act implementation plan, and have written over 450 articles about New York’s net-zero transition. The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect the position of any of my previous employers or any other organization I have been associated with, these comments are mine alone.
Overview
The Climate Act established a New York “Net Zero” target (85% reduction in GHG emissions and 15% offset of emissions) by 2050. It includes an interim 2030 reduction target of a 40% reduction by 2030. Two targets address the electric sector: 70% of the electricity must come from renewable energy by 2030 and all electricity must be generated by “zero-emissions” resources by 2040. The Climate Action Council (CAC) was responsible for preparing the Scoping Plan that outlined how to “achieve the State’s bold clean energy and climate agenda.” The Integration Analysis prepared by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and its consultants quantifies the impact of the electrification strategies. That material was used to develop the Draft Scoping Plan outline of strategies. After a year-long review, the Scoping Plan was finalized at the end of 2022. Since then, the State has been trying to implement the Scoping Plan recommendations through regulations, proceedings, and legislation.
Setting the Stage for the Meeting
As I have noted previously there are many reasons why an assessment of the future energy economy is needed. Three recent reports top the list. The Public Service Commission (PSC) Clean Energy Standard Biennial Review Report found that the 70% renewable energy goal will likely not be achieved until at least 2033. The New York State Comptroller Office Climate Act Goals – Planning, Procurements, and Progress Tracking audit found that the PSC and NYSERDA implementation plans did not comprise all essential components, including “assessing risks to meeting goals and projecting costs.” The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) 2023-2042 System & Resource Outlook described issues that threaten reliability and resilience of the current and future electric system. The Department of Public Service Proceeding 15-E-0302 may also be influencing the Governor and precipitating the need for the summit. The Business Council of New York has cited those reports and gave other reasons why it is needed. As a result, the governor said the state’s climate goals are something she “would love to meet, but also the cost has gone up so much. I now have to step back and say, ‘What is the cost on the typical New York family?’ Just like I did with congestion pricing.”
Annotated Agenda
Welcome
- Doreen Harris, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- Reason to meet in Syracuse was because of Micron chip fabrication plant
- Administration is committed to Climate Act goals but refinements may be necessary
Morning Keynote
- Kathy Hochul, Governor Press Release
- Reiterated commitment to Climate Act goals because of all the climate events
- Governor does not know difference between weather and climate
- She managed to appeal to a wide range of her constituents with specific statements
Fireside Chat: State of Technology
- David Crane, Under Secretary for Infrastructure, U.S. Department of Energy
- Richard Kauffman, Chair, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- I was not impressed with this session
- Neither speaker has a technical background and it showed
- Upton Sinclair’s quote is apropos: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.
Accelerating Renewable Energy Deployment in New York State
- Moderator, Georges Sassine, Vice President, Large Scale Renewables, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- Laura Beane, President North America, Vestas
- Lori Bird, Director of U.S. Energy Program and Polsky Chair for Renewable Energy, World Resources Institute
- Eric Cohen, Head of Green Economy Banking, JP Morgan Chase
- Frank Macchiarola, Chief Policy Officer, American Clean Power Association
- Jonah Wagner, Senior Advisor to the Director, U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office
- All of these speakers have a vested interest in the clean energy transition so my notes are sparse
- I posted a question asking if it was a good idea to build as much renewable energy as possible before the necessary dispatchable emissions-free resource technology is specified. There was no response to the question.
Status of Next Generation Energy Technologies
- Moderator, Brandon Owens, Vice President, Innovation, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- Dr. William Acker, Executive Director, New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium
- Dr. Monterey Gardiner, Chief Engineer, National Renewable Energy Lab
- Dr. Benjamin Houlton, The Ronald P. Lynch Dean, Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Dr. Jack Lewnard, Program Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
- Jeffery Preece, Director of Research and Development, Electric Power Research Institute
- Julie Tighe, President, New York League of Conservation Voters
- One of the significant points made during the Summit is that certain industries are willing to pay more for reliable high-quality electric power.
- This broaches the idea that those companies would be willing to make investments in reliable power
- It also acknowledges that certain industries recognize that a future grid that relies on wind, solar, and energy storage will not be reliable enough
Lunchtime Keynote Speaker Clean Energy Supply for Large Loads
- Rich Powell, Chief Executive Officer, Clean Energy Buyers Association
- He explained how large companies signal their climate virtue by claiming credits for zero-carbon generation virtually
Insights from Large Consumers of Electricity
- Moderator, Hope Knight, President, CEO, and Commissioner, Empire State Development
- Miranda Ballentine, Senior Advisor, Green Strategies
- Amber Bieg, Lead Senior Program Manager for Global Sustainability, Micron
- Moshe (Mo) Bonder, Director, Business Development Low Carbon Solutions, National Grid Ventures
- Jennifer Lupo, Vice President, Energy Solutions, Supply Chain & Leasing, The Raymond Corporation
- Dr. Varun Sivaram, Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate, Council on Foreign Relations
- This session gets into the real reason for the Summit
- In order to do justice to the commentary I need to review the meeting recording
- All these companies subscribe to the belief that it is important that the electricity they use be “clean”
- There was even a suggestion that to be competitive, companies demand clean energy. My impression was that affordability and reliability were weighed equally with cleanliness. That does not seem appropriate, so I need to get exact quotes
Global Perspective: Advanced Nuclear Development in Other States and Nations
- Moderator, Rory Christian, Chair, New York State Public Service Commission
- Nicolle Butcher, Chief Operations Officer, Ontario Power Generation
- Steve Chengelis, Senior Director of Future Nuclear, Electric Power Research Institute
- Dr. John Parsons, Deputy Director for Research, MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research
- Dr. Andrew Whittaker, SUNY Distinguished Professor, University of Buffalo
- This session addressed the status of nuclear elsewhere
- Questions were posed and answers debunking common anti-nuclear talking points were included
Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Technologies
- Moderator, John Williams, Executive Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- Armond Cohen, Chair, Clean Air Task Force
- Judi Greenwald, Executive Director, Nuclear Innovation Alliance
- Christine King, Director, U.S. Department of Energy’s Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear Program
- Greg Lancette, Business Manager, United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 81
- J. Ryan McMahon II, Onondaga County Executive
- Marc Nichol, Executive Director of New Nuclear, Nuclear Energy Institute
- In the interest of full disclosure I bailed on this session
Wrap up and Next Steps
- Doreen Harris, President and CEO, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- I got into the meeting webinar when I got home in time for this
- Harris read accolades to her boss’s vision to fight the crisis
- She said there were three takeaways
- She doubled down on the need for building renewables and making them the primary energy source
- She acknowledged that dispatchable emission-free resources were needed
- She argued that we must not miss the opportunity to leverage federal initiatives to fund New York’s transition.
- She believes that the clean energy transition will grow a prosperous economy
- She encouraged everyone to review the draft blueprint for consideration of advanced nuclear technologies
- Discussion
In an earlier post I noted that the State must confront the possibility that the safety valve criteria in New York Public Service Law § 66-p (4) for unsafe and inadequate electric service, impairment of existing obligations and agreements, and unacceptable increase in arrear or service disconnections will be exceeded. There was no suggestion whatsoever that the Hochul Administration has any doubts that a zero-carbon electric grid that relies on wind and solar will work.
It seems obvious that there are large consumers of electricity that want to at least be able to say that they use 100% renewable energy. I think this summit was in no small part designed to cater to those companies. However, there were some hints that high quality electric power was enough of a concern that nuclear might be an acceptable option.
The other reason for this meeting was to broach the nuclear power option to the State. The draft blueprint is potentially a referendum on its use. I have no doubts that the anti-nuclear activists are frantically developing their plan to inundate the comment process with negative comments. The political calculus of weighing the squeaky wheel crowd relative to the reliability of the wagon realists will be interesting. Will the Administration admit that reliability and resiliency are not just slogans.
Conclusion
I remain convinced that the current Scoping Plan implementation will do more harm than good. The Energy Summit could have been the start of a correction process that might reduce the inevitable increased risks to reliability, extraordinary price increases, and significant environmental impacts but that does not appear to be the case. As I said before the Summit is another Macbeth story: “A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.
Pragmatic Environmentalist of New York 