Long-Term Contracts Are Key to Long-Term Energy Independence in the Empire State

New Yorkers are celebrating a different kind of revolution on the heels of Independence Day. Thanks to Governor Cuomo’s visionary leadership, the Empire State is leading the nation in an energy revolution that will achieve significant independence from fossil fuels.

Launched last year, the Clean Energy Standard (CES) is the Governor’s flagship program to put the Empire State on track to fifty percent renewables by 2030. If done right, the CES will help free New Yorkers from costly price spikes driven by volatile fossil fuels and provide a major boost to New York’s local clean energy industry.

Later this summer, New York will roll out its final plans to achieve the 50 percent mandate. To ensure a successful outcome, New York regulators must design the CES so that it requires utilities to enter into long-term contracts with renewable energy providers. And that requirement should be a no-brainer.

Since the Governor’s directive, the Public Service Commission (PSC) has studied various approaches to the mandate, and each time found that long-term contracts are key to both meeting the requirement and ensuring cost savings for residents and businesses in the state.

The PSC’s own cost analysis earlier this year showed that requiring utilities to enter into long-term contracts with renewable energy providers would save New Yorkers $269 million through lower energy costs, and provide a hedge against fossil fuel prices.

Long-term contracts are especially critical to attracting the type of sustained industry investment that New York needs in order to create a robust and permanent clean energy infrastructure; one that creates jobs while cutting fossil fuel use. 

An earlier PSC analysis also showed that compared to alternative options, long-term contracts with solar and other renewable energy providers were the most cost effective mechanism to unlocking New York’s clean energy – and clean jobs – potential.

We can look to California, the only state with a comparable economy to New York’s and a fifty percent clean energy mandate, for more evidence that long-term contracts are both prudent and business-friendly. For the past several years, California has required its utilities to enter into long-term contracts for renewable energy purchases. As a result, California has met its clean energy goals ahead of schedule, creating over 75,000 solar jobs and establishing itself as a global center for clean energy investment.

The solar industry applauds Governor Cuomo and the New York PSC for their bold efforts to transform New York into a clean energy powerhouse. Now, the PSC needs to take the next step by requiring utilities to enter into long-term contracts with solar providers so New York can turn its ambitious clean energy revolution into a clean energy reality.