New York on Thursday published an action plan in an effort to accelerate its renewable energy sector and expand the industry that is growing around it.

The announcement apparently was synchronized with a decision to reject inflation-related cost adjustment requests for 90 renewable energy projects whose developers have said they may not be able to start construction under the contract terms originally negotiated.

Energy development in New York is neither speedy nor inexpensive, and there is concern that Thursday’s Public Service Commission order may further raise costs and slow progress. The 90 projects total more than 12 GW. (See NY Rejects Inflation Adjustment for Renewable Projects.)

The action plan rolled out Thursday seeks to keep New York on track for one of the first milestones mandated by the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act: 70% of the state’s electricity must come from renewable sources by 2030.

“Strong, continued support for expanding the renewable energy sector is critical to realizing the full potential of our green economy and protecting New Yorkers from the climate crisis,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in the official announcement. “This 10-point action plan underscores our commitment to addressing challenges that this sector is experiencing all across the country and hardens our resolve to ramp up our efforts in providing affordable and clean energy to all New Yorkers.”

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which is leading the state’s clean energy buildout, published the action plan. Parts of the plan are new, specifically referencing Thursday’s PSC order; others are expansions or continuations of what already had been in progress.

The 10 points of the plan are:

• • NYSERDA will announce offshore wind, onshore wind and solar contract awards soon. The latest solicitations were issued more than a year ago; award of contracts in the offshore wind solicitation was pushed back to allow developers to resubmit their proposals at lower prices.
  • NYSERDA will assess the impact of Thursday’s PSC order on the existing portfolio of contracted large-scale renewables and the ability of developers to meet their contracted obligations. NYSERDA said it is committed to providing “future opportunities” to existing projects that cannot move forward as initially planned, but it did not provide details.
  • NYSERDA will launch an accelerated procurement process for onshore and offshore renewables. Inflation indexing and other risk-sharing mechanisms will be incorporated.
  • The state will continue to work with the federal government to find financial solutions.
  • The state will continue its buildout of transmission infrastructure, which is a critical enabler of the climate goals.
  • The state will continue to build the offshore wind supply chain and ecosystem that will help the market scale up, gain efficiencies and reduce costs. Last month, New York, eight other East Coast states and four federal agencies announced a memorandum of understanding for a regional collaboration toward a similar set of goals.
  • NYSERDA will continue to help develop the state’s clean-energy workforce, with inclusion and equity at the forefront of the effort.
  • NYSERDA and other state agencies are developing the Offshore Wind Master Plan 2.0, which potentially moves beyond the Outer Continental Shelf, where wind power development now is focused, to deeper waters where floating wind technology would be needed.
  • New York will continue to engage actively in industry outreach, fostering a two-way dialogue that will help the state reach its clean energy goals.
  • New York will advance public engagement and outreach. This long has been central to much of New York’s efforts but specific initiatives now planned by NYSERDA include: supporting fishing industries by establishing a regional compensation fund for those affected by offshore wind development; gathering Eastern Seaboard stakeholders in 2024 for a State of the Science Workshop on environmental and wildlife research and offshore wind development; and research toward promotion of agrivoltaics, so the needs of the agriculture and solar industries both are met.