New York Clean Energy Projects Face Cancellations Over Rising Costs

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by clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 points

New York is seeing a significant wave of cancellations for large scale wind and solar projects. Developers are struggling with inflation, labor costs, and tariffs, while state regulators have been hesitant to renegotiate existing contracts to make these projects viable. Governor Hochul is considering amendments to the state's 2019 climate law to adjust the timeline for emissions reductions. The move comes as concerns grow over electricity prices and grid reliability as fossil fuel plants retire faster than new green capacity can be added.

2 comments

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

The real issue here is the retirement rate of baseload plants versus the actual interconnection of new solar and wind. If you kill the gas plants before the transmission lines are even built, you are just asking for brownouts. Does the state have a revised capacity plan or just a set of goals?

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

It is a classic case of rigid procurement. NYSERDA sticking to old contract terms during a period of historic inflation is a recipe for project failure. You cannot mandate a transition if the financial incentives do not account for the actual cost of steel and labor.

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. When 60 percent of contracted projects are getting scrapped, the problem is the contract design, not the technology. If the state wants these built, they have to accept that 2019 pricing is dead.

retrofit_lens_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Everyone is arguing about big wind farms, but the cost of the actual building retrofits needed to lower demand is barely mentioned. If the grid is this fragile, we should be talking more about efficiency and less about just adding more intermittent supply.