Thirteen large-scale renewable energy projects from Albany to the Southern Tier and points north cleared a key hurdle recently as New York tries to build momentum for its clean energy buildout.
The projects — a mix of solar, land-based wind and hydroelectric generation — received contracts from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority that enable developers to qualify for federal tax credits before they expire and guarantee state payments recognizing their contributions to a clean grid.
“We need projects that are well sited, that are developed via rigorous community engagement and also rigorous environmental standards to be a successful project in New York,” Doreen Harris, NYSERDA’s president and CEO, told the USA TODAY Network.
Several projects have been in the planning stage for a decade or more, wending their way through the state permitting process and community hearings and are now entering what Harris termed the “shovel ready” phase.
Together, they will generate 719 megawatts of renewable energy for the grid, enough to power 230,000 homes.
Among them is the controversial Canisteo Wind Energy Center, a 290-megawatt project covering 1,000 acres in six towns in Steuben County, near the Pennsylvania border.
In a move attacked by environmental groups, the developer, Chicago-based Invenergy, agreed to pay $2 million into Cornell University’s eagle rehabilitation program to mitigate the possible deaths of dozens of eagles over the course of 30 years at Canisteo and another wind farm — Alle-Catt Wind Energy — planned for western New York.
Fighting the Trump Administration
The Canisteo project is also at the center of a lawsuit that state Attorney General Letitia James filed against the Trump administration in July. James alleges the Department of Defense has refused to sign off on reviews certifying that the wind turbines would not interfere with radar systems and military operations.
James said the stall tactic is meant to short-circuit wind projects like Canisteo to satisfy President Donald Trump’s opposition to wind power. “New Yorkers should not have to pay the price for the president’s personal vendetta against wind power,” James said. “As demand for energy continues to skyrocket, these wind projects have become more important than ever.”
Also impacted by the delay is the Maple Harvest Wind Project in Onondaga County.
The state’s climate goals — 70% reliance on renewables by 2030 — hinge on the ability to generate clean energy on large-scale renewable projects upstate that can travel south on high-voltage transmission lines to clean up a downstate grid dominated by fossil fuels.
That hasn’t happened. Since 2021, the state has approved 42 large-scale solar and wind projects, a USA TODAY Network investigation in July found. Nine are operating. Eight others have been approved for construction. They produce a small fraction of the renewable energy needed to clean up the downstate grid.
The buildout has been hamstrung by opposition in upstate towns resistant to attempts to cover over farmland with solar panels and wind turbines. Republicans Bruce Blakeman, who’s challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Marc Molinaro, running for an Assembly seat in the Hudson Valley, have seized on the issue as an attack line.
Democrats defend the buildout, noting it will not only clean the air but keep utility costs down by shielding the grid from price fluctuations.
Marguerite Wells, the executive director of Alliance for Clean Energy New York, a trade group representing renewable developers, said the NYSERDA awards will save New York ratepayers money.
"The more renewables New York builds, the more insulated New York's ratepayers are from the global volatility and price shocks that have detrimental effects on our pocketbooks,” Wells said.
Where the projects will be built
Here are the 12 other projects receiving awards.
Capital Region
- Flint Mine Solar, Greene County
- Hecate Energy Greene 1, Greene County
- Hecate Energy Greene 2, Greene County
- Spier Falls, Saratoga County
Central New York
- High Dam Hydroelectric Facility, Oswego County
Finger Lakes
- Wethersfield Windpark, Wyoming County
North Country
- Chateaugay Windpark, Franklin County
- Diamond Island Hydroelectric Facility, Jefferson County
- Ellenburg Windpark, Clinton County
- Greens Corners Solar Park, Jefferson County
- Rich Road Solar Energy Center, St. Lawrence County
- Theresa Hydroelectric Project, Jefferson County.
Battery storage approved
Also last week, NYSERDA approved awards for eight new bulk-energy battery storage projects with a combined 950 megawatts of storage capacity.
The facilities bank energy produced from all types of generation — fossil fuels and renewables — and store them for four to eight hours, filling in as needed during periods of high demand. The eight were selected from 46 bidders.
“These projects are reflective of what is a very burgeoning industry here in the state,” Harris said. “These are, I’d say, the cream of the crop. They’re the projects that brought forward the best combination or price, of community support, of siting consideration and, of course system value.”
Here are the eight projects that won awards:
Western New York
- Lighthouse Energy Storage, Chautauqua County
- Zenobe Burns, Allegany County
Finger Lakes
- Eastwater Energy Storage, Monroe County
Hudson Valley
- KCE NY 5, Ulster County
New York City
- Blue Spruce Storage, Bronx County
- Palladium Storage, Bronx County
Long Island
- Holtsville Energy Storage, Suffolk County
- KCE NY 37, Suffolk County
Thomas C. Zambito covers energy, transportation and economic growth for the USA TODAY Network’s New York State team. He’s won dozens of state and national writing awards from the Associated Press, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Deadline Club and others during a decades-long career that’s included stops at the New York Daily News, The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record of Hackensack. He can be reached at tzambito@lohud.com
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 13 large-scale solar, wind farms get key approval from NY. See where
