Build Public Renewables Act will advance EJ
New York state has fallen woefully behind in passing legislation to achieve its renewable-energy goals. As representatives of environmental justice organizations across the state, we are sounding the alarm on this lack of legislative action, because emissions from fossil fuels disproportionately harm New Yorkers of color. And we are calling on lawmakers to include the full version of the Build Public Renewables Act (S4134/A279) in the state budget this year.
New York generation is barely at 5 percent wind and solar now — not even halfway to our state’s 2015 renewable-energy targets. Even with all of the new projects announced by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the state will still fall short of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act mandate for 2030. The Build Public Renewables Act is our renewables safety net. It will enable the New York Power Authority to build what is needed to meet the state’s climate law mandates.
We know that private investor-owned utilities perpetuate racial and economic injustice. Research has shown that investor-owned utilities allow for more blackouts and brownouts to occur in low-income communities of color during times of high energy demand. For example, in New York City’s July 2019 heat wave, ConEdison caused a blackout to nearly 50,000 residents in Canarsie and Flatlands, which are majority-Black neighborhoods. Losing access to energy has life-threatening consequences, especially during cold snaps and for people dependent on electrical medical equipment at home.
Critically, the Build Public Renewables Act would mandate the phaseout of NYPA’s fossil fuel “peaker” power plants as public renewable energy infrastructure is ramped up. Dirty peaker plants have a disproportionate negative health impact on communities of color and low-income communities in our state.
Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx is an epicenter for environmental injustice, where generations of people of color have been overburdened with fossil fuel pollution resulting from a disproportionate number of toxic facilities sited in their neighborhoods. To make matters worse, four peaker power plants are located in the Bronx — and they’re running on a regular basis, not just during peak energy demand.
This scenario, combined with poverty, high rates of unemployment, low-wage jobs, under-resourced schools, lack of access to adequate health care, unaffordable housing, and a host of other challenging conditions, has cumulatively devastated this community and exacerbated inequities. It should come as no surprise that children living in the South Bronx have asthma hospitalization rates double that of children in the rest of the country.
The Build Public Renewables Act is exactly the kind of meaningful environmental action New Yorkers need. In fact, NYPA’s recently published study found that it will be feasible to replace any of the authority’s peaker plants with battery storage technology as early as 2030, in line with the timeline the Build Public Renewables Act would set. It will allow the NYPA to build, own and sell renewable energy and phase out its existing fossil fuel plants as quickly as possible. For communities of color and low income all across the state, this legislation will literally save lives.
What’s more, the Build Public Renewables Act will make electricity more affordable. As of November 2022, the average debt per household in National Grid’s upstate service area, including Buffalo, was about $1,175. The Build Public Renewables Act would give NYPA the authority to provide energy to low- and moderate-income households across New York state at half the rate of what is charged by their current utility.
Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed an expansion of NYPA’s authority in her executive budget, but this proposed expansion leaves out some of the most crucial parts of the bill: labor standards, accountability standards and the mandate to build. Additionally, Hochul’s proposed timeline for phasing out peak power plants is five years later than what is written in the Build Public Renewables Act, including language that we worry could leave the door open to continue running these dirty power plants in perpetuity.
The communities that we represent are tired of being told to wait to breathe cleaner air. To have a truly just transition to renewable energy and take one step closer to ensuring that energy is a human right, New York must pass the Build Public Renewables Act.
Read more from the opinion piece by in The Times Union: https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/commentary-climate-bill-advance-environmental-17863001.php.