Bill Text: NY A06761 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Prohibits the development of any new major electric generating facilities that would be powered in whole or in part by any fossil fuel, unless the developer of such facility can demonstrate a need for such facility, and that there is no other reasonable method to satisfy such need.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 45-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to energy [A06761 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A06761-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6761

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 29, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. MAMDANI, FORREST, GALLAGHER, MITAYNES -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Energy

        AN ACT to amend the public service law and the  environmental  conserva-
          tion  law, in relation to prohibiting the development of any new major
          electric generating facilities that would be powered in  whole  or  in
          part by any fossil fuel

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "clean futures act".
     3    §  2. Section 160 of the public service law is amended by adding a new
     4  subdivision 10 to read as follows:
     5    10. "Fossil fuel" means coal,  petroleum  products,  and  fuel  gases.
     6  "Coal"  shall  include  bituminous  coal,  anthracite coal, and lignite.
     7  "Fuel gases" shall include but not be limited to methane,  natural  gas,
     8  liquefied natural gas, and manufactured fuel gases. "Petroleum products"
     9  shall  include all products refined or rerefined from synthetic or crude
    10  oil or oil extracted from other sources, including natural gas  liquids.
    11  Provided that nothing in this subdivision shall affect the exclusion for
    12  public utility services set forth in subdivision two of this section.
    13    §  3. Section 162 of the public service law is amended by adding a new
    14  subdivision 6 to read as follows:
    15    6. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation,
    16  beginning upon the effective date of this subdivision  the  board  shall
    17  not  issue a certificate for any major electric generating facility that
    18  would be powered in whole or in part by any fossil fuel.
    19    (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the  board  may
    20  issue  a certificate for a major electric generating facility powered in
    21  whole or in part by any fossil fuel if both of the following  conditions
    22  are met:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10500-05-1
        A. 6761                             2

     1    (i)  The  developer  of  such major electric generating facility shall
     2  provide to the board, the commission, and the commissioner  of  environ-
     3  mental  conservation, an attestation in writing, signed by both New York
     4  independent system operator and the appropriate  New  York  transmission
     5  owner or public authority, attesting to:
     6    (1) the existence of a reliability need;
     7    (2)  the  unavailability  of  either local or bulk transmission system
     8  upgrades that would address such reliability need; and
     9    (3) such major electric generating facility would resolve  such  reli-
    10  ability need; and
    11    (ii)  The  developer  of such major electric generating facility shall
    12  demonstrate to the satisfaction of the board, the  commission,  and  the
    13  commissioner of environmental conservation that the existing reliability
    14  need  cannot be addressed within an appropriate time frame by any combi-
    15  nation of transmission, energy storage, zero carbon electric generation,
    16  demand response, and/or energy efficiency.
    17    (c) Any written communication  between  an  applicant  and  the  board
    18  concerning  a  proposed major electric generating facility shall be made
    19  publicly available on the department's website.
    20    § 4. Section 172 of the public service law is amended  by  adding  two
    21  new subdivisions 3 and 4 to read as follows:
    22    3.  The  department  of environmental conservation shall not issue any
    23  permit otherwise authorized pursuant to subdivision one of this section,
    24  or issued pursuant to section 19-0311 of the environmental  conservation
    25  law, for any major electric generating facility that would be powered in
    26  whole  or in part by any fossil fuel, unless the developer of such major
    27  electric generating facility has satisfied the  provisions  of  subpara-
    28  graphs  (i)  and (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision six of section one
    29  hundred sixty-two of this article.
    30    4. Any written communication between an applicant for a permit  pursu-
    31  ant  to  subdivision  one of this section and the department of environ-
    32  mental conservation shall be made publicly available on  the  department
    33  of conservation's website.
    34    §  5. Section 19-0311 of the environmental conservation law is amended
    35  by adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
    36    6. No permit shall be issued under  this  section  that  would  be  in
    37  violation of subdivision three of section one hundred seventy-two of the
    38  public  service law. Any written communications between an applicant for
    39  such a permit and the department shall be made publicly available on the
    40  department's website.
    41    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.