New York Governor affirms wind commitments

In addition, Governor Cuomo is directing The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to invest $15m in clean energy workforce development and infrastructure advancement to train workers for jobs in offshore wind construction, installation, operation, maintenance, design and associated infrastructure.

To attract private investment in port infrastructure and supply chain activities, Governor Cuomo is further directing NYSERDA to work with Empire State Development and other state agencies to determine the most promising public and private offshore wind port infrastructure investments. These new actions are aimed to jumpstart project development, drive job growth and industry investments.

New York faces a number of energy-related challenges including upgrading its aging energy infrastructure, which carries with it an estimated $30 billion price tag over the next 10 years. Moreover, as renewable energy sources produce a larger share of New York's electricity, New York must also address the intermittency of clean resources like wind and solar. Without methods to store the energy and dispatch it when and where it is needed, New York will face challenges integrating and maximizing the benefits of these clean resources.

To address these challenges, Governor Cuomo is launching an initiative to deploy 1,500MW of energy storage by 2025 and employ 30,000 New Yorkers to establish New York as a home for this rapidly expanding clean tech industry. Achieving this goal is expected to produce $2 billion in energy value to New Yorkers by reducing the reliance on costly, dirty and inefficient energy infrastructure, while also helping to scale up the clean energy industry.

The Governor is also proposing a commitment of at least $200 million from NY Green Bank for storage-related investments to help drive down costs and to strategically deploy energy storage to where the grid needs it most. Finally, the Governor is directing NYSERDA to invest at least $60 million through storage pilots and activities to reduce barriers to deploying energy storage, including permitting, customer acquisition, interconnection, and financing costs.