The Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) joined Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, D-N.Y., and other clean energy supporters at a bill-signing ceremony celebrating the passage of the Power NY Act of 2011.
The legislation reinstates New York's Article X, a statewide power-plant siting law, and establishes an on-bill recovery mechanism for the Green Jobs/Green New York program.
New York's previous Article X law, which expired Jan. 1, 2003, allowed for the siting of ‘major’ electric generating facilities – i.e., facilities sized 80 MW or larger – and was overseen by a multi-agency siting board that included public representatives.
The new legislation renews the previous Article X law and amends it to provide siting oversight for power plants in excess of 25 MW and includes strong protections for public participation, community impacts and air-quality effects.
‘The hallmark of this legislation is its comprehensive, streamlined process for siting new power plants, which, at the same time, provides strong environmental safeguards and a robust level of input from host communities and other stakeholders,’ says Carol E. Murphy, executive director of ACE NY. ‘Such an improved process will ensure that development of new clean energy projects like wind farms moves forward in a timely manner and is ultimately met with success.’
