“New Yorkers have won the most transformational climate and green jobs bill in the nation. 

The passage of the Build Public Renewables Act is a historic victory that will improve the lives of New Yorkers and be a model of how to rapidly ramp up the production of renewable energy for the country. 

An unprecedented movement of New Yorkers, unions, and environmental justice groups from  Long Island to Buffalo came together to fight back against Hochul’s attempts to weaken the bill. And together, we won. 

The Build Public Renewables Act will create a new era of green union jobs in renewable energy production, slash rising energy bills, and shut down polluting fracked gas power plants in Black and brown communities – finally fulfilling the promise of the Green New Deal. The new policy will enable New York to meet its bold climate goals set in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) with a publicly-owned system that is accountable to New Yorkers, not shareholders. 

Ninety years ago, FDR established the New York Power Authority to create power for the people. Over the decades, FDR’s vision for NYPA has been diminished. Today we reclaim that power, ensuring NYPA serves us, and that renewable energy is a public good. 

Unfortunately, Governor Hochul and her handpicked NYPA interim CEO Justin Driscoll vehemently opposed provisions that would make NYPA more accountable to New Yorkers, and were able to strip them from the version of the bill included in the budget. They also weakened the mandate to build new projects after 2035, which means that strong leadership is now even more important.

NYPA needs leadership that understands the potential of public power and will use NYPA’s resources and capacity to ensure that affordable renewable energy gets to New Yorkers who need it most and that New York meets its climate goals. Driscoll has proven he is not the leader NYPA needs, and we will mobilize the powerful movement that passed this bill to oppose his confirmation.”