New York Regulators Approve Renewable Energy Contracts

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
April 26, 2022

The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) recently approved contracts with Clean Path New York LLC for its Clean Path NY project and H.Q. Energy Services Inc. for its Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) project to deliver solar, wind and hydroelectric power from upstate New York and Canada to New York City.

Clean Path NY comprises a 175-mile state-of-the-art transmission line, 3,800 megawatts of new in-state solar and wind power, and New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) existing Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Plant, a hydroelectric facility that will strengthen the reliability and resiliency of the project.

“Together, these assets will dramatically increase the delivery of reliable, cost-effective renewable energy into New York City to drive a significant reduction in the use of fossil fuel plants that are currently relied upon to serve the city’s peak energy needs,” NYPA noted.

The project is a partnership between Invenergy, energyRe and NYPA.

The CHPE project involves the construction of an underground and underwater transmission line spanning approximately 339 miles between the Canada–U.S. border and New York City and is being developed by Transmission Developers, Inc.  and Hydro-Québec.

The PSC’s April 14 decision was bolstered by the City of New York’s confirmation that it will join in these landmark awards by agreeing to purchase a portion of the renewable attributes generated by the two projects, thus helping to make the scale of these projects possible while creating the opportunity to reduce the cost impact of these projects by up to $1.7 billion to all other ratepayers.

The New York State Office of General Services has also committed to entering into a contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for Tier 4 renewable energy credits (RECs) associated with the energy used by State agencies and departments located in the city.

NYSERDA will also offer renewable attributes from these projects for voluntary purchase.

With approval of the contracts, NYSERDA payments will commence for each respective project once the project has obtained all required permits and approvals, has completed construction, and is delivering power to New York City, which is expected to begin in 2025 for the fully permitted CHPE project and 2027 for the Clean Path NY project.