FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August 21, 2025
Contact: info@publicpowerny.org
New Yorkers Demand Hochul Build 15GW of Public Renewables by 2030
New York — This week, New Yorkers packed two virtual public hearings on the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) updated strategic plan to implement the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) and overwhelmingly called on Governor Kathy Hochul to lead the nation by building 15 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy.
Following massive public pressure the strategic plan was already increased from a paltry 3GW to 7GW, but at least 15GW of public renewables by 2030 is necessary for New York to meet the legally mandated goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
“This is the minimum that we need in order to comply with New York State’s own laws, including our target of reaching 70% renewables by 2030. New York has passed amazing nation leading climate laws like the CLCPA and the Build Public Renewables Act,” said Rockaway resident Becca Curtis Heald. “But as a New Yorker, I’m deeply concerned that Governor Hochul seems to be ready to abandon these goals. And speaking as someone living in the Rockaways, it’s completely surreal to me that my fellow residents of Rockaway are having to spend their time fighting against a gas pipeline being expanded in our backyards, instead of enjoying the benefits of the clean energy transition.”
After a powerful, four year-long campaign, New Yorkers won the most transformational climate and green jobs bill in the nation in May 2023 with the passage of the BPRA, which authorizes NYPA to build and own renewable energy projects. But instead of bold leadership, Hochul is considering implementing Trump’s energy dream: more volatile fracked gas and expensive nuclear to power Big Tech’s AI data center buildout.
“Last year, there were wildfires in Dutchess, Orange and Ulster counties at the same time, which made the air unbreathable, and droughts were drying up New York City’s upstate reservoirs. This is a climate emergency. A five alarm fire for an entire planet. Our billionaire fascist president is denying science and setting us back on climate policy by decades.
We need New York to do more, or we are doomed. New York must commit to building 15GW of public renewable energy by 2030,” said Daniel Atonna. “We want at least five gigawatts of capacity for the Hudson Valley in downstate New York, with more attention to distributed energy resources.”
“I remember when hurricane Sandy hit New York, and my family and everyone we knew lost power because the energy grid failed us. I’ve watched with growing concern as these types of storms have increased in frequency and intensity over the last 13 years,” said Nora Macy. “I also have watched as my family’s energy bills have gone up, continue to go up each summer to such an extent that my elderly mother often refrained from using air conditioning during the extreme heat in the summer because of how expensive it is. I watched as my relatives with children have had to leave the city because they are crushed under the affordability crisis of the city, worsened by the increasing energy bills. Meanwhile, I’ve watched as Governor Kathy Hochul betrayed New Yorkers by spreading untrue statements about public renewables.”
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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.