BPRA Benefits: $5 million for Workforce Development and NYPA Considering 3.7GW of Public Renewables

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 31, 2026

BPRA Benefits: $5 million for Workforce Development and NYPA Considering 3.7GW of Public Renewables

As Hochul fights to repeal climate law and double down on gas, Public Renewables remain only climate and cost solution for New Yorkers

White Plains, New York – The New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees approved an additional $5 million for workforce development training today and are considering adding up to 3.7gigawatts(GW) of public renewables to its next strategic update to implement the Build Public Renewables Act (BRPA).

NYPA also announced it is launching a dashboard to track its progress, a requirement of the Public Renewables Transparency Act.

Thousands of New Yorkers and elected officials, like Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have called on Governor Kathy Hochul to build the 15GW of public renewables necessary for the state to meet the legally mandated targets of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which require the state to be at 70% renewable energy by 2030.

New York is perilously behind on meeting the CLCPA targets and instead of leading the nation and building enough renewables to meet the goals, Hochul is proposing to rollback the climate law.

Alex Patterson, Campaign Coordinator for Public Power NY, said: “New York passed the Build Public Renewables Act in 2023 and for three years Kathy Hochul has been dragging her feet on building public renewables, denying New Yorkers lower bills and thousands of good paying, green union jobs. We’re glad to see NYPA is considering up to 3.7GW of additional public renewables and call on Hochul to commit to the 15GW we need to meet our climate law, instead of holding budget negotiations hostage in an attempt to roll it back, like Trump would do.”

To address the energy affordability crisis, the New York State Assembly included $200 million to build public renewables in their one-house budget proposal, along with a two year freeze on utility rate hikes.

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Note to the editor:

About Public Power NY

As chronicled in the new book “Organize or Burn.” Public Power NY is a movement fighting to ensure New York effectively carries out the Build Public Renewables Act by building 15 Gigawatts of public renewables by 2030. Hailed as the first statewide Green New Deal law, BPRA was written by PPNY and passed in 2023 thanks to four years of organizing by a multiracial, multi-generational movement of climate and advocacy organizations, labor unions representing millions of New Yorkers and tens of thousands of New Yorkers who have taken action from upstate, downstate, and everywhere in between. With federal climate action off the table, BPRA has enabled NY to not just play defense against Trump, but lead the way the way FDR created NYPA to do.