Kathy Hochul may wake up to energy problems in New York, but that won’t solve the problem

Governor Hochul may have finally woken up to the state’s looming energy nightmare.

Too bad he doesn’t know how to prevent it.

At the latest energy summit, she was forced to face an uncomfortable truth: All the magic dust in the world won’t help New York achieve its goal of getting rid of fossil fuels.

Above all, the government refuses to acknowledge that state and city climate laws that “mandated” the impossible and imposed requirements to supposedly achieve them were merely excursions into fantasy land.

Goals: By 2030, New York City will obtain 70% of its electricity from renewable sources and by 2040, have zero net greenhouse gas emissions.

In the city, new emission limits from buildings are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and by 100% by 2050.

Problem?

The plan involved closing fossil fuel-fired power plants, offering no realistic way to replace all the energy they generate, let alone meet the state’s natural energy needs. development electricity demand.

They also order changes that increase more energy is needed — for example, persuading building owners to electrify (despite the enormous costs) and forcing a mass switch to electric vehicles.

And New Yorkers are Already running out of juice.

As summer approached, a report from the New York Independent System Operator (which oversees the state’s power grid) warned of “reliability threats.””

The state has a “renewable energy shortfall” of 42,000 gigawatt-hours: that’s the expected capacity compared with the 115,000 GWh per year needed to meet the 70% target by 2030 — and the majority of New York’s renewable energy production Now is hydropower that has no growth potential.

Experts (and common sense) say that this goal cannot be achieved using wind and solar energy alone.

Even Democratic State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli slammed the plan for failing to fully assess risks, failing to meet goals and inadequately forecasting costs.

New Yorkers are already suffering losses – utility bills have increased by as much as 40% in some parts of the state since the plan went into effect.

And his final price — and the risk of power outages — are just the beginning of the problems.

As New Yorkers for Affordable Reliable Energy notes, “co-op and condo owners and boards cannot responsibly convert their buildings to electric without ensuring that there will be enough electricity available, especially during the coldest parts of winter”—“people could freeze to death.”

They fear legal liability if they convert their buildings to electric and leave tenants in the dark — or cold or hot — if there is no power.

Still, Hochul still intends to stick to the plan (though the summit at least suggests she might be more open to using more nuclear power to achieve her goals).

The government blames its problems on “the global pandemic, supply chain issues and rising energy demand” and is demanding a “fresh look” at the problem while “reaffirming our commitment to the clean energy transition”.

Admitting there is a problem is the first step to solving it, but for now the government is closer to denial.

To avoid disaster, Hochul should push for a hold on the regulations until all the holes are plugged — which likely won’t happen for decades.