FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Contact: Harrison Carpenter-Neuhaus, info@publicpowerny.org, 786-214-1204
PUBLIC RENEWABLES TAKE STEP FORWARD, HOCHUL HOLDS BACK PROGRESS AT SCALE
New York Power Authority announces new projects, but renewable energy draft plan & public comment period indefinitely delayed
NEW YORK – After years of organizing and over ten thousand public comments from New Yorkers, The New York Power Authority has begun construction on its first public renewable energy project since the passage of the Build Public Renewables Act in 2023, and this week announced its largest public solar project yet. NYPA’s 20 megawatt Somers Solar project will be New York’s first 100% publicly developed and owned solar project; its 240 megawatt Rich Road project will be NYPA’s first project to generate REACH program utility bill credits, and is expected to create 250 union jobs. NYPA also announced today it has completed initial due diligence on 6.4 gigawatts of new projects in addition to the 5.5 GW already planned – a positive step, but still short of the 15 gigawatts New York urgently needs.
In another milestone for the public power movement, last week NYPA also announced a new partnership with the State University of New York system to accelerate solar and energy storage projects across SUNY campuses. Public power organizers have pushed NYPA for years to expand its partnerships with public sector institutions to site renewables and decarbonize public buildings. The movement has also called on NYPA to strengthen collaboration with the City University of New York system to deliver more of this progress downstate.
New York’s first public renewable projects mark a critical step forward for our energy system, and represent the result of pressure from thousands of New Yorkers across the state. But despite this historic milestone, NYPA has still not released its updated renewables strategic plan and has offered no substantive news on its next public comment period, while our energy crisis deepens. New York’s patchwork of utilities, private developers, and regulators have failed to protect New Yorkers from skyrocketing utility rates, more frequent climate disasters, and increased risk of brownouts and blackouts. Only strong public sector leadership can correct the course with an ambitious plan for public renewables and transmission. Yet Governor Hochul has ignored this urgency, instead doubling down on costly new fossil fuel infrastructure that will raise profits for Big Oil investors at the expense of working people’s bills.
“NYPA’s announcements show the critical role of the public sector as the corporate status quo fails to address skyrocketing bills, rising blackout risks, and climate disaster. These projects will create hundreds of high-road union jobs while delivering economic benefits to host communities and lower bills for the New Yorkers who need it most,” said Alex Patterson, Campaign Coordinator for Public Power NY. “But we should be clear: NYPA is moving too slowly. New York needs these solutions at scale, but Governor Hochul is ignoring the urgent need for public renewables and doubling down on the fossil fuel system that is driving the energy crisis, affordability crisis, and climate crisis. Delay is disaster. NYPA must commit to rapidly building at least 15 gigawatts of public renewables and lead the transition to a renewable, publicly owned energy system.”
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About Public Power NY
The Public Power NY Coalition is a statewide movement of community and advocacy organizations fighting for an environmentally sustainable energy system that’s also racially, socially, and economically just. We believe energy and a habitable planet are human rights, and that we need to avert the climate crisis by eliminating the use of fossil fuels and transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy. We aim to accomplish these goals by taking over our for-profit energy system and bringing it under public, not-for-profit, local, and democratic ownership and management.