FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, July 14, 2025
Contact: info@publicpowerny.org
Hochul Giving Up on Climate Goals Instead of Utilizing Most Powerful Tool in Toolbox: Public Renewables
Public Power NY Coalition responds to Governor Hochul’s failed energy plan
Public Power NY Coalition responds to Governor Hochul’s failed energy plan
Albany, New York – Governor Kathy Hochul is refusing to lead on climate and concedes New York will not meet the legally mandated goals of the nation leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) in New York’s new draft energy plan.
The Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA), passed in 2023, authorizes the New York Power Authority to build and own renewable energy projects, giving the state a powerful tool to build at least 15GW of public renewables by 2030 to meet the legally mandated goals of the CLCPA, but NYPA is barely mentioned in the draft energy plan. In a recent op ed, she also signaled that powering AI research would be a top energy priority.
The Public Power NY Coalition released the following statement: “Governor Kathy Hochul is acting like failing to meet our climate goals is out of her hands, but she’s leaving the most powerful tool in the toolbox by not fully utilizing NYPA to build 15GW of public renewables. Hochul’s own draft plan says that renewables are the most cost-effective option to meet our energy needs, yet she is doubling down on volatile fracked gas and costly nuclear. And when it comes to renewables, Hochul continues to put her faith in the private market – which has already been tried and failed. Meanwhile she is prioritizing powering wasteful AI over keeping the lights on for New Yorkers. We can still meet our legally mandated climate targets if NYPA builds 15GW of public renewables, creating tens of thousands of union jobs and delivering affordable energy in the process.”
Instead of fully utilizing NYPA, Hochul is considering fracked gas pipelines, expensive nuclear power, and a “slow down” of the state’s renewable build out, which she incorrectly attributes as the cause of unaffordable utility bills.
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Note to the editor:
About Public Power NY
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.