[ad_1]
The state office created to speed up the approval of sweeping wind and solar projects is ironically moving too slowly, jeopardizing New York’s renewable energy targets, according to a Thursday audit from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
Auditors found that the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, which was created in 2020 to get projects online faster, took an average of three years to approve just 14 projects. Permit applications granted by the office were often delayed due to missing information from applicants that required a lengthy back and forth, the comptroller’s office found.
The agency has dozens of upcoming projects in the approval pipeline and the state budget last week expanded the agency’s authority to energy transmission projects, which crucially send power to communities. In short, “without improvements to the process it follows that the chances of more delays increase as ORES workload increases,” the audit states.
“New York is rightfully trying to lead the way to a clean energy transition,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “[But] ORES needs to increase transparency around permitting timelines to allow the state to better assess its progress in meeting its renewable energy goals.”
New York state is racing to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The audit found that the state agency is meeting its legally-imposed deadlines to coordinate the review process, but that incomplete applications from project developers are largely slowing down the process.
ORES executive director Houtan Moaveni said in a response to the audit that the agency is “working steadily at improving both tracking of applications and communication with the applicant community” on project requirements.
“It must be understood that the development of major renewable energy facilities is a complex endeavor,” Moaveni wrote. “The materials required to meet application deficiencies are as varied as the projects themselves and applicants have varying levels of experience and adeptness in providing the requisite submissions.”
Since its founding, ORES has reduced the time it takes for large-scale renewable energy project approvals from five to four years. Auditors say the agency must be transparent about where delays occur and track applications from the day they are received to the day they are approved so the public can better understand the review process and how it can be improved.
The renewable energy siting office has so far issued 15 final permits for projects adding up to 2.3 gigawatts of power. None of the efforts are currently operational.
In a separate report published last summer, DiNapoli’s office found that in order for New York to procure 70% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2030, the state must add 20 gigawatts over the next eight years.
[ad_2]
Caroline Spivack , 2024-04-26 17:56:55
Source link