N.Y. PBS Law § 66-P — New York Code / Act PBS / Article 4 / Section 66-P
Establishment of a renewable energy program
Status: in_force

§ 66-p. Establishment of a renewable energy program. 1. As used in\nthis section:\n  (a) "jurisdictional load serving entity" means any entity subject to\nthe jurisdiction of the commission that secures energy to serve the\nelectrical energy requirements of end-use customers in New York state.\n  (b) "renewable energy systems" means systems that generate electricity\nor thermal energy through use of the following technologies: solar\nthermal, photovoltaics, on land and offshore wind, hydroelectric,\ngeothermal electric, geothermal ground source heat, tidal energy, wave\nenergy, ocean thermal, and fuel cells which do not utilize a fossil fuel\nresource in the process of generating electricity.\n  (c) "bill credit" shall have the same meaning as in subparagraph (i)\nof paragraph (a) of subdivision twenty-seven-b of section one thousand\nfive of the public authorities law.\n  (d) "disadvantaged community" means a community defined as a\ndisadvantaged community under article seventy-five of the environmental\nconservation law.\n  (e) "renewable energy" means electrical energy produced by a renewable\nenergy system.\n  (f) "low-income or moderate-income end-use consumer" shall mean\nend-use customers of electric corporations and combination gas and\nelectric corporations regulated by the public service commission whose\nincome is found to be below the state median income based on household\nsize.\n  2. No later than June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-one, the\ncommission shall establish a program to require that: (a) a minimum of\nseventy percent of the state wide electric generation secured by\njurisdictional load serving entities to meet the electrical energy\nrequirements of all end-use customers in New York state in two thousand\nthirty shall be generated by renewable energy systems; and (b) that by\nthe year two thousand forty (collectively, the "targets") the statewide\nelectrical demand system will be zero emissions. In establishing such\nprogram, the commission shall consider and where applicable formulate\nthe program to address impacts of the program on safe and adequate\nelectric service in the state under reasonably foreseeable conditions.\nThe commission may, in designing the program, modify the obligations of\njurisdictional load serving entities and/or the targets upon\nconsideration of the factors described in this subdivision.\n  3. No later than July first, two thousand twenty-four and every two\nyears thereafter, the commission shall, after notice and provision for\nthe opportunity to comment, issue a comprehensive review of the program\nestablished pursuant to this section. The commission shall determine,\namong other matters: (a) progress in meeting the overall targets for\ndeployment of renewable energy systems and zero emission sources,\nincluding factors that will or are likely to frustrate progress toward\nthe targets; (b) distribution of systems by size and load zone; and (c)\nannual funding commitments and expenditures.\n  4. The commission may temporarily suspend or modify the obligations\nunder such program provided that the commission, after conducting a\nhearing as provided in section twenty of this chapter, makes a finding\nthat the program impedes the provision of safe and adequate electric\nservice; the program is likely to impair existing obligations and\nagreements; and/or that there is a significant increase in arrears or\nservice disconnections that the commission determines is related to the\nprogram.\n  5. No later than July first, two thousand twenty-four, the commission\nshall establish programs to require the procurement by the state's load\nserving entities of at least nine gigawatts of offshore wind electricity\ngeneration by two thousand thirty-five and six gigawatts of photovoltaic\nsolar generation by two thousand twenty-five, and to support three\ngigawatts of statewide energy storage capacity by two thousand thirty.\n  6. In any proceeding commenced by the commission with a goal of\nachieving one hundred eighty-five trillion British thermal units of\nend-use energy savings below the two thousand twenty-five energy-use\nforecast, the commission will include mechanisms to ensure that, where\npracticable, at least twenty percent of investments in residential\nenergy efficiency, including multi-family housing, can be invested in a\nmanner which will benefit disadvantaged communities, as defined in\narticle seventy-five of the environmental conservation law, including\nlow to moderate income consumers.\n  7. In the implementation of this section, the commission shall design\nprograms in a manner to provide substantial benefits for disadvantaged\ncommunities, as defined in article seventy-five of the environmental\nconservation law, including low to moderate income consumers, at a\nreasonable cost while ensuring safe and reliable electric service.\nSpecifically, the commission shall:\n  (a) To the extent practicable, specify that a minimum percentage of\nenergy storage projects should deliver clean energy benefits into NYISO\nzones that serve disadvantaged communities, as defined in article\nseventy-five of the environmental conservation law, including low to\nmoderate income consumers, and that energy storage projects be deployed\nto reduce the usage of combustion-powered peaking facilities located in\nor near disadvantaged communities;\n  (b) In pursuing the state's solar deployment goals, the New York state\nenergy research and development authority shall consider enhanced\nincentive payments for solar and community distributed generation\nprojects, focusing in particular but not limited to those serving\ndisadvantaged communities, as defined in article seventy-five of the\nenvironmental conservation law, which result in energy cost savings or\ndemonstrate community ownership models; and,\n  (c) In the allocation of ratepayer funds for clean energy, direct the\nNew York state energy research and development authority and investor\nowned utilities to develop and report metrics for energy savings and\nclean energy market penetration in the low and moderate income market\nand in disadvantaged communities, as defined in article seventy-five of\nthe environmental conservation law, and post such information on the\nauthority's website.\n  8. The power authority of the state of New York shall, no later than\ntwelve months after the effective date of this subdivision, file a\npetition to commence, and the commission shall commence, necessary\nproceedings to enable the power authority of the state of New York to\nprovide bill credits from renewable energy generating projects under the\nrenewable energy access and community help program, or "REACH",\nestablished pursuant to subdivision twenty-seven-b of section one\nthousand five of the public authorities law, to low-income or\nmoderate-income end-use electricity consumers in disadvantaged\ncommunities for renewable energy produced by renewable energy generating\nprojects developed, constructed, owned, or contracted for by the power\nauthority of the state of New York pursuant to subdivision\ntwenty-seven-a of section one thousand five of the public authorities\nlaw. Such bill credits shall be in addition to any other renewable\nenergy program or any other program or benefit that low-income or\nmoderate-income end-use electricity consumers in disadvantaged\ncommunities receive, and any other incentives made available by the\npower authority of the state of New York. For purposes of this\nsubdivision, a renewable energy system developed, constructed, owned, or\ncontracted for by the authority shall be:\n  (a) sized up to and including five megawatts alternating current and\ninterconnected to the distribution system or transmission system in the\nservice territory of the electric utility that serves the low-income or\nmoderate-income end-use consumers that receive bill credits; or\n  (b) sized above five megawatts alternating current and interconnected\nto the distribution or transmission system at one or more points\nanywhere in New York state. The commission shall, after public notice\nand comment, establish such programs implementing REACH which:\n  (i) provide that jurisdictional load serving entities shall enter into\nagreements with the power authority of the state of New York to carry\nout REACH;\n  (ii) provide that jurisdictional load serving entities shall file\ntariffs and other solutions determined by the commission to implement\nREACH at a reasonable cost while ensuring safe and reliable electric\nservice;\n  (iii) provide that, unless they opt out, low-income or moderate-income\nend-use electricity consumers in disadvantaged communities, including\nsuch end-use electricity customers who have or who reside in buildings\nthat have on-site net-metered generation or who participate in a\ncommunity choice aggregation or community distributed generation\nproject, shall receive bill credits for renewable energy produced by a\nrenewable energy system developed, constructed, owned, or contracted for\nby the power authority of the state of New York pursuant to subdivision\ntwenty-seven-a of section one thousand five of the public authorities\nlaw;\n  (iv) consider enhanced incentive payments in bill credits to\nlow-income or moderate-income end-use electricity consumers in\ndisadvantaged communities for renewable energy systems including solar\nand community distributed generation projects as provided for in\nparagraph (b) of subdivision seven of this section;\n  (v) to the extent practicable include energy storage in renewable\nenergy systems to deliver clean energy benefits to low-income or\nmoderate-income end-use electricity consumers in disadvantaged\ncommunities as provided for in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision\nseven of this section; and\n  (vi) address recovery by jurisdictional load serving entities of their\nprudently incurred costs of administering REACH in electric service\ndelivery rates of the utility in whose service territory low-income or\nmoderate-income end-use electricity consumers in a disadvantaged\ncommunity participate in REACH.\n