Over the last two decades, New York state has repeatedly set some of the country’s most ambitious green energy benchmarks. But while the Empire State hopes to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, its most promising green energy source — wind — has remained stagnant for years, accounting for just 3 percent of the state’s power supply.
A complex regulatory process has frequently denied applications from renewable energy developers or driven them to such frustration that they’ve withdrawn their plans altogether. In one case, a proposed solar development in the Buffalo-area town of Cambria was rejected after violating local zoning laws. A wind farm slated for a small island on Lake Ontario was also scrapped after a hunter spotted a pair of eagles, which spurred a contentious environmental assessment.
In response to these failures, last year the state legislature established a new Office of Renewable Energy Siting. The office aims to streamline wind and solar development while retaining important safeguards like environmental assessments and community feedback... Read more
