New York’s Climate Goals Hampered by Trump FERC Appointees
New York’s Climate Goals Tripped Up by Trump Appointees at FERC
(Bloomberg) -- Federal regulators rejected a New York grid operator’s request to exclude some clean energy resources from a state power market in a move that could disrupt Governor Andrew Cuomo’s push to cut carbon emissions.
In a contentious 2-1 vote on Thursday, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted to maintain a price floor for renewable energy and storage projects that was designed to reduce the impact of state incentives on power prices. Chairman Neil Chatterjee said the decision was needed “to provide accurate price signals” to the market.
Two months ago, the Republican-led agency made a similar decision involving the largest U.S. grid operator, PJM Interconnection LLC. Both rulings favor coal and natural gas plants over state-subsidized solar and storage projects in what environmental groups see as a win for President Donald Trump’s pro-fossil-fuel campaign.
“FERC delivered a new subsidy to the fossil fuel industry today at the unfortunate expense of New York ratepayers,” Gregory Wetstone, chief executive officer of the American Council on Renewable Energy, said in a statement.
Cuomo has set a goal of eliminating carbon emissions from power plants by 2040. New York’s grid operator said it’s reviewing the order and considering options.
In a dissent, Commissioner Richard Glick said the New York ruling could be the end of markets that were designed to ensure there will be enough power-plant capacity to meet demand in a few years. “We’ve created a big mess in the Eastern capacity markets,” he said.
The PJM market stretches from Washington, D.C. to Chicago. In December, FERC changed rules in a way that effectively raised the minimum bid in a capacity market, taking away the cost advantage for solar and wind energy. Several states have threatened to leave the market because of it.
“Competitive electricity markets, which were originally designed to provide reliable service at the least cost, are at an inflection point,” said Rich Dewey, CEO of New York Independent System Operator Inc. “Wholesale markets must now accommodate state policies; not conflict with them.”
(Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, has committed $500 million to launch Beyond Carbon, a campaign aimed at closing the remaining coal-powered plants in the U.S. by 2030 and slowing the construction of gas plants.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Martin in New York at cmartin11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Ryan at jryan173@bloomberg.net, Reg Gale
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