Bill Text: NY S04527 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the mitigation of the severity of climate change; requires the state to create a binding plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by eighty-five percent, based on 1990 emissions levels, and meeting one hundred percent of electricity needs from fossil fuel-free resources by 2050.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S04527 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S04527-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4527 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 5, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni- cations AN ACT to amend the energy law, in relation to the mitigation of the severity of climate change; and to repeal certain provisions of the energy law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "freedom 2 from fossil fuels act". 3 § 2. Subdivisions 1, 4 and 5 of section 3-101 of the energy law, 4 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 253 of the laws of 2013 and subdivi- 5 sion 5 as amended by chapter 396 of the laws of 1978, are amended to 6 read as follows: 7 1. to obtain and maintain an adequate and continuous supply of safe, 8 dependable and economical energy for the people of the state and to 9 accelerate development and use within the state of renewable energy 10 sources, all in order to mitigate the severity of climate change, to 11 promote the state's economic growth, to create employment within the 12 state, to protect [its] the state's environmental values and agricul- 13 tural heritage, to husband its resources for future generations, and to 14 promote the health and welfare of its people; 15 4. to encourage transportation modes and equipment which conserve the 16 use of energy and reduce and/or eliminate emissions of carbon dioxide 17 and co-pollutants; 18 5. to foster, encourage and promote the prudent development and wise 19 use of [all indigenous state] the state's renewable energy resources 20 including, but not limited to, [on-shore oil and natural gas, off-shore21oil and natural gas, natural gas from Devonian shale formations,] small 22 head hydro, [wood,] solar, wind, solid waste, energy from biomass, fuel 23 cells, geothermal, offshore wind and cogeneration; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09079-01-1S. 4527 2 1 § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 3-101 of the energy law is REPEALED and 2 a new subdivision 7 is added to read as follows: 3 7. to conduct energy planning in an integrated and comprehensive 4 manner through development of a master plan designed to achieve the 5 goals set forth in the New York state climate leadership and community 6 protection act, which includes but is not limited to, the following: 7 a. By two thousand thirty, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by forty 8 percent, based on 1990 emissions levels, and meeting seventy percent of 9 electricity needs from renewable resources; 10 b. By two thousand fifty, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by eight- 11 y-five percent, based on 1990 emissions levels, and meeting one hundred 12 percent of electricity needs from fossil fuel-free resources. 13 The master plan shall also be designed to meet the clean energy 14 resource and energy efficiency targets set forth in section sixty six-p 15 of the public service law, as added by chapter one hundred six of the 16 laws of two thousand nineteen. 17 § 4. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 6-102 of the energy law, as 18 amended by chapter 195 of the laws of 2011, are amended to read as 19 follows: 20 1. There shall be established a state energy planning board, herein- 21 after referred to as the "board", which shall consist of the chair of 22 the public service commission, the commissioner of environmental conser- 23 vation, the commissioner of economic development, the commissioner of 24 transportation, the commissioner of labor, the commissioner of the divi- 25 sion of homeland security and emergency services, the commissioner of 26 agriculture and markets, the commissioner of health, the secretary of 27 state and the president of the New York state energy research and devel- 28 opment authority. The [governor, the] speaker of the assembly and the 29 temporary president of the senate shall each appoint [one] three addi- 30 tional [representative] representatives to serve on the board. The 31 representatives appointed by the speaker of the assembly and the tempo- 32 rary president of the senate shall include at all times individuals with 33 expertise in issues relating to climate change mitigation and/or adapta- 34 tion, such as environmental justice, energy planning, labor, public 35 health and regulated industries. The presiding officer of the federally 36 designated electric bulk system operator (BSO) shall serve as a non-vot- 37 ing member of the board. Any decision or action by the board shall be by 38 majority vote. The president of the New York state energy research and 39 development authority shall serve as chair of the board. Members of the 40 board may designate an executive staff representative to participate on 41 the board on their behalf. 42 2. Regional planning councils shall be established. [Two] Nine regions 43 shall be established as follows: 44 (a) [Downstate region - New York City and Dutchess, Nassau, Orange,45Putnam, Rockland,] Region one: Nassau and Suffolk[, Ulster and Westches-46ter] counties; 47 (b) [Upstate region - Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga,48Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware,49Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer,50Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara,51Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer, Sarato-52ga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben,53Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates54counties.] Region two: Kings, Bronx, New York, Queens, and Richmond 55 counties;S. 4527 3 1 (c) Region three: Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, 2 Ulster, and Westchester counties; 3 (d) Region four: Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Montgomery, Otsego, Rens- 4 selaer, Schenectady, and Schoharie counties; 5 (e) Region five: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Saratoga, 6 Warren, and Washington counties; 7 (f) Region six: Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, and St. Lawrence 8 counties; 9 (g) Region seven: Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Madison, Ononda- 10 ga, Oswego, Tioga, and Tompkins counties; 11 (h) Region eight: Chemung, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orle- 12 ans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, and Yates counties; and 13 (i) Region nine: Allegany, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie, Niagara, and 14 Wyoming counties. 15 The governor, temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the 16 assembly shall each appoint [three] two regional planning council 17 members per region. Regional planning council members shall serve with- 18 out compensation, and shall have their principal residence within the 19 region for which they are appointed. Such regional council members may 20 solicit input from stakeholder interests within their region, including 21 but not limited to local governments, municipal utilities, rural elec- 22 tric cooperatives, utilities, labor unions, ratepayers, businesses, 23 trade associations, generators, social justice organizations, and commu- 24 nity organizations with a focus on, including but not limited to, 25 climate change mitigation, the environment, environmental justice, 26 and/or public health. Each regional planning council shall transmit to 27 the board a report containing any recommendations specific to its region 28 on a schedule determined by the board to be appropriate for consider- 29 ation of such report in the development of the draft energy plan. 30 § 5. Subdivision 2 and paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 6-104 31 of the energy law, as added by chapter 433 of the laws of 2009, para- 32 graph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 195 of the laws of 33 2011, are amended and two new subdivisions 2-a and 6 are added to read 34 as follows: 35 2. The state energy plan shall include: (a) forecasts for a minimum 36 period of ten years, and for such other periods as the board may deter- 37 mine, of: (i) demand for electricity[, natural gas, coal, petroleum38products, including heating and transportation fuels] and other fuel 39 sources for heating, transportation and industrial processes, and alter- 40 nate fuels, including ethanol and other biofuels, to the extent possi- 41 ble, taking into account energy conservation, load management and other 42 demand-reducing measures including, but not limited to, carbon pricing, 43 which can be achieved in a cost-effective manner, including the basis 44 for such projection, including an examination of possible alternate 45 levels of demand and discussion of the forecasting methodologies and 46 input variables used in making the forecasts; 47 (ii) energy supply requirements needed to satisfy demand for electric- 48 ity, [natural gas, coal, petroleum products, including heating and49transportation fuels] and other fuel sources for heating, transporta- 50 tion, industrial processes, and alternate energy sources and fuels, for 51 each region of the state, and for the state as a whole, including with 52 respect to electricity, the amount of capacity needed to provide 53 adequate reserve margins and capacity needed to ensure reliability and 54 competitive markets in the various regions of the state and to ensure 55 electric capacity for beneficial electrification of additional sectorsS. 4527 4 1 including, but not limited to heating, transportation and industrial 2 processes; 3 (iii) an assessment of the ability of the existing energy supply 4 sources and the existing transmission or fuel transportation systems, to 5 satisfy, together with those sources or systems reasonably certain to be 6 available, such energy supply requirements, indicating planned addi- 7 tions, retirements, deratings, substantial planned outages, and any 8 other expected changes in levels of generating and production capacity; 9 (iv) additional electric capacity and/or transmission or fuel trans- 10 portation systems needed to meet such energy supply requirements that 11 will not be met by existing sources of supply and those reasonably 12 certain to be available, where such analysis should identify system 13 constraints and possible alternatives available, both supply-side and 14 demand-side alternatives, including but not limited to distributed 15 generation, energy efficiency and conservation measures, to redress such 16 constraint; and 17 (v) projected greenhouse emissions assessed using a life-cycle method 18 of analysis for each fuel type. 19 (b) Identification and assessment of the costs, risks, benefits, 20 uncertainties and market potential of all energy supply source alterna- 21 tives[, including demand-reducing measures, renewable energy resources22of electric generation, distributed generation technologies, cogenera-23tion technologies, biofuels and other methods and technologies reason-24ably available for satisfying energy supply requirements which are not25reasonably certain to be met by the energy supply sources identified in26paragraph (a) of this subdivision, provided that such analysis shall27include the factors identified in paragraph (d) of this subdivision]; 28 (c) Identification and analysis of emerging trends related to energy 29 supply, price and demand, including trends related to the transportation 30 sector; 31 (d) An assessment of current energy policies and programs, and their 32 contributions to achieving long-range energy planning objectives includ- 33 ing, but not limited to, the least cost integration of energy supply 34 sources, energy transportation and distribution system and demand-reduc- 35 ing measures for satisfying energy supply requirements, giving due 36 regard to such factors as required capital investments, cost, ratepayer 37 and climate impacts, security and diversity of fuel supplies and gener- 38 ating modes, protection of public health and safety, adverse and benefi- 39 cial environmental impacts, conservation of energy and energy resources, 40 the ability of the state to compete economically, and any other policy 41 objectives deemed appropriate; 42 (e) In order to assist the board in such evaluation, the power author- 43 ity of the state of New York and the Long Island power authority shall 44 individually submit to the planning board: (i) a strategic plan specify- 45 ing the mission and goals of the authority, the policies and programs 46 utilized to fulfill such mission and goals, and an explanation of how 47 such policies and programs relate to the state energy plan, (ii) an 48 annual five-year operating plan, and (iii) a ten-year projected capital 49 budget for their respective operations. Such plans shall include major 50 new capital and programmatic initiatives, as well as descriptions and 51 achievements of existing programs, including program objectives and the 52 numbers of clients and/or customers served for each service or program; 53 (f) An analysis of security issues, considering both natural and human 54 threats to the state's energy systems; 55 (g) An environmental justice analysis including an analysis of the 56 barriers to, and opportunities for, community ownership of renewableS. 4527 5 1 generation and energy efficiency services in low-income and environ- 2 mental justice communities; 3 (h) An assessment of [the ability of urban planning alternative] land 4 use planning, including but not limited to smart growth [and], mass 5 transportation improvements to reduce energy and transportation fuel 6 demand, and building code changes which will reduce the use of energy, 7 carbon emissions, and other co-pollutants; 8 (i) An inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, and strategies for 9 facilitating and accelerating the use of zero or low carbon energy 10 sources and/or carbon mitigation measures; 11 (j) Recommendations, as appropriate and desirable, for administrative 12 and legislative actions to implement such policies, objectives and stra- 13 tegies; 14 (k) Assessment of the impacts of implementation of the plan upon 15 economic development, health, safety and welfare, environmental quality, 16 and energy costs for consumers, specifically low-income consumers; [and] 17 (l) A statewide plan for the conversion to zero-emission vehicles 18 including, but not limited to, the necessary infrastructure to reduce 19 range anxiety, the conversion of the state fleet to zero-emission vehi- 20 cles, and the overall electrification of the transportation sector; 21 (m) A statewide plan for development of non-fossil fuels for heating, 22 cooling and industrial processes; and 23 (n) Such additional information as the board deems appropriate, such 24 as but not limited to, information developed from consultation with the 25 BSO. 26 2-a. The state energy plan shall not include any provisions for new 27 construction or implementation of: (a) any infrastructure used to trans- 28 fer fossil fuels or fuel gasses; or 29 (b) electricity generation or storage electricity which utilize fossil 30 fuels gases. 31 (b) Any energy-related action or decision of a state agency, board, 32 commission or authority shall be [reasonably] consistent with the fore- 33 casts and the policies and long-range energy planning objectives and 34 strategies contained in the plan, including its most recent update[;35provided, however, that any such action or decision which is not reason-36ably consistent with the plan shall be deemed in compliance with this37section, provided that such action or decision includes a finding that38the relevant provisions of the plan are no longer reasonable or probable39based on a material and substantial change in fact or circumstance, and40a statement explaining the basis for this finding]. No state agency, 41 board, commission, or authority shall act inconsistently with the 42 provisions of this section. 43 6. Any person may bring an action in his or her own name to enforce 44 the provisions of this article through a private right of action. 45 § 6. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 and subdivision 3 of section 6-106 46 of the energy law, subdivision 3 as added by chapter 433 of the laws of 47 2009, paragraph (c) of subdivision 2, the opening paragraph, subpara- 48 graphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (a), subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of 49 paragraph (b), and paragraphs (c) and (d) as amended and paragraph (e) 50 of subdivision 3 as added by chapter 195 of the laws of 2011, are 51 amended to read as follows: 52 (c) Public comment hearings, with at least [three] one in each region 53 described in subdivision two of section 6-102 of this article and 54 provide an opportunity to submit written comments, subsequent to the 55 issuance of a draft plan, to obtain views and comments of interested 56 persons on any aspect of, or issue addressed in, such draft plan;S. 4527 6 1 3. As determined by the board in each instance to be appropriate with 2 respect to the particular entity or entities from which information, if 3 any, shall be required, the information to be provided to the board by 4 energy transmission [and], distribution and generation companies, elec- 5 tric, gas, or steam corporations, major energy suppliers including 6 owners or operators of electric generation facilities, commodity and/or 7 end-use energy service providers, state agencies or authorities, includ- 8 ing the power authority of the state of New York and the Long Island 9 power authority, and/or others, shall include the following: 10 (a) Comprehensive long-range plans for future operations: 11 (i) a forecast of electricity demands over a period as the board may 12 determine appropriate, including annual in-state electric energy sales 13 and summer and winter peak loads by utility service area where applica- 14 ble, and total any annual in-state electric energy sales and coincident 15 peak load, specifically identifying the extent to which energy conserva- 16 tion, load management and other demand-reducing measures, and electric 17 energy generated by cogeneration, small hydro and [alternate energy18production facilities] distributed generation, energy generated by 19 fossil fuels and fuel gases, including renewable energy technologies and 20 fuel cells, consumed on site, have been incorporated within such fore- 21 cast; 22 (ii) a forecast of electricity supply requirements over a period as 23 the board may determine appropriate, by utility service area where 24 applicable, specifically identifying the reserve margins required for 25 reliable electric service, the transmission and distribution losses 26 assumed, and the amount of out-of-state sales commitments; 27 (iii) an assessment of the ability of existing electricity supply 28 sources, and those reasonably certain to be available, to satisfy elec- 29 tricity supply requirements, including electric generating facilities 30 which can be retained in service beyond their original design life 31 through routine maintenance and repairs and anticipatory estimates of 32 beneficial electrification for new sectors including, but not limited 33 to, heating, cooling, cooking, transportation, and industrial processes; 34 (iv) an inventory of: (A) all existing electric generating and trans- 35 mission facilities including those owned or operated by the power 36 authority of the state of New York and the Long Island power authority; 37 (B) electric generating and transmission facilities planned or under 38 construction including the power authority of the state of New York and 39 the Long Island power authority, including the dates for completion and 40 operation; (C) the anticipated retirement dates for any electric gener- 41 ating facilities currently operated including those owned or operated by 42 the power authority of the state of New York and the Long Island power 43 authority; (D) land owned or leased including that owned or leased by 44 the power authority of the state of New York and the Long Island power 45 authority and held for future use as sites for major electric generating 46 facilities; and (E) electric generating, transmission, and related 47 facilities operated, or planned to be operated, by others, to the extent 48 information concerning the same is known; 49 (v) recommended supply additions and demand reducing measures for 50 satisfying the electricity supply requirements, not reasonably certain 51 to be met by electricity supply sources identified in subparagraph (iii) 52 of this paragraph, including the life extension of existing electric 53 generating facilities, and reasons therefor; 54 (vi) a statement of research and development plans, including objec- 55 tives and programs in the areas of energy conservation, climate change 56 mitigation, beneficial electrification, load management, electric gener-S. 4527 7 1 ation and transmission, new energy technologies and pollution abatement 2 and control, which are not funded through regulatory required programs, 3 recent results of such programs undertaken or funded to date, and an 4 assessment of the potential impacts of such results; 5 (vii) a projection of estimated electricity prices to consumers over 6 the forecast period, and a sensitivity analysis of that forecast relat- 7 ing to a number of factors including fuel prices and the levels of 8 available capacity and demand in the regions of the state; 9 (viii) a description of the load forecasting methodology and the 10 assumptions and data used in the preparation of the forecasts, specif- 11 ically including projections of demographic and economic activity and 12 such other factors, statewide and by service area, which may influence 13 electricity demand, and the bases for such projections; 14 (ix) proposed policies, objectives and strategies for meeting the 15 state's future electricity needs; and 16 (x) such additional information as the board may, by regulation, 17 require to carry out the purposes of this article. 18 (b) All providers of natural gas transmission, distribution and/or 19 marketing services to customers shall individually prepare and submit a 20 comprehensive long-range plan for future operations, which shall 21 include, as appropriate: 22 (i) a forecast over a period as the board may determine appropriate, 23 by utility service area, of estimated annual in-state gas sales, winter 24 season sales and peak day sales by appropriate end-use classifications, 25 specifically identifying the extent to which energy conservation meas- 26 ures and the sale of gas owned by persons other than natural gas trans- 27 mission and distribution utilities have been incorporated within such 28 forecast; 29 (ii) a forecast of gas supply requirements over a period as the board 30 may determine appropriate, by utility service area, specifically identi- 31 fying the amounts of gas needed to meet severe weather conditions, lost 32 and unaccounted for gas, out-of-state sales commitments and internal 33 use; 34 (iii) an assessment of the ability of existing gas supply sources, and 35 those reasonably certain to be available, to satisfy gas supply require- 36 ments; 37 (iv) an inventory of: (A) all existing supply sources, storage facili- 38 ties, and transmission facilities which are used in providing service 39 within the state, (B) the transmission and storage facilities under 40 construction which would be used in providing service within the state, 41 their projected costs and capacities, including peaking capacity, (C) 42 transmission facility additions proposed to be constructed by natural 43 gas transmission and distribution utilities, (D) transmission facilities 44 operated, or planned to be operated, by others, to the extent informa- 45 tion concerning the same is known; 46 (v) [recommended supply additions and demand-reducing measures for47satisfying the gas supply requirements, not reasonably certain to be met48by gas supply sources identified in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph49and the reasons therefor;50(vi)] a projection of estimated gas prices to consumers over the fore- 51 cast period, and a sensitivity analysis of that forecast relating to a 52 number of factors including the levels of commodity supply availability, 53 of available pipeline and storage capacity, and of demand in the regions 54 of the state; 55 [(vii)] (vi) a description of the load forecasting methodology and the 56 assumptions and data used in the preparation of the forecasts, specif-S. 4527 8 1 ically including projections of demographic and economic activity and 2 such other factors, statewide and by service area where applicable, 3 which may influence demand for natural gas, and the bases for such 4 projections; 5 [(viii)] (vii) a statement of research and development plans, includ- 6 ing objectives and programs in the areas of energy conservation and new 7 energy technologies, recent results of such programs undertaken or fund- 8 ed to date, and an assessment of the potential impacts of such results; 9 [(ix)] (viii) proposed policies, objectives and strategies for meeting 10 the state's future gas needs; and 11 [(x)] (ix) such additional information as the board may, by regu- 12 lation, require to carry out the purposes of this article. 13 (c) Such information from major petroleum suppliers and major coal 14 suppliers as the board may require to carry out the purposes of this 15 article. 16 (d) Such other information from owners and operators of electric 17 generating power plants as the board may require to carry out the 18 purposes of this article. 19 [(e) A single comprehensive submission from industry groups, trade20associations, or combinations of such groups and associations in place21of submissions by individual member companies.] 22 § 7. No agency, commission, or authority shall approve or permit the 23 construction of any fossil fuel or fuel gas generation facility or 24 infrastructure until the completion of an energy plan developed in 25 accordance with the provisions of this act. 26 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.
