Hochul Doubles Down on Failing For-Profit Model for Renewables

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 24, 2026

Hochul Doubles Down on Failing For-Profit Model for Renewables

Albany, New York – Governor Kathy Hochul’s top employee for implementing the state’s climate law, NYSERDA CEO and President Doreen Harris, told Politico that the administration plans to stick with the status quo of relying on the market to build renewables, despite most projects being proposed by for-profit developers not moving forward.

Developers recently threatened to cancel nearly 3 gigawatts of projects after NYSERDA refused to renegotiate state contracts. Investors in renewable energy projects typically expect at least an 8% profit, and prefer to abandon projects rather than accept a lower profit margin. As a result, a majority of New York projects planned by private developers over recent years have been scrapped.

Alex Patterson, Campaign Coordinator for Public Power NY, said: “Governor Kathy Hochul is doubling down on the failing status quo. The simple truth is private developers will not build enough renewable energy because it will not make them enough money. However, public renewables built by the New York Power Authority do not need to make a large profit, and are the solution to delivering clean, affordable energy to New Yorkers who need it most. ”

Under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), New York must reach 70% renewable energy by 2030, and the state is perilously behind on meeting that mark, only on track for 45%. 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 to get back on track.

Instead of leading the nation and building enough renewables to meet the goals, Hochul is proposing “cook the books” on the climate law while pushing an all of the above energy plan that doubles down on “anti-affordability strategies” of more fracked gas and nuclear power.

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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.