New York Plans 22 Renewable Energy Plants to Reach Climate Goals

The projects should generate enough power to serve 620,000 New York homes for at least 20 years, spur $2.7 billion in private investments and create more than 3,000 jobs in the state, Hochul said in a statement on Thursday.

The new plants bring New York State a step closer to its goal of obtaining 70% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 on the path to a zero-emission grid 10 years after that. Hochul said last September that the state intends to build at least 10 gigawatts of distributed solar power by 2030, an increase from the state’s previous target of six gigawatts by 2025.

“These projects will allow us to not just meet but exceed our goal of obtaining 70% of our electricity from renewable resources and will further cement New York as a national leader in the fight against climate change,” Hochul, who is running for election in November, said in a statement.

The 22 new plants are expected to generate 4.5 million megawatt-hours of renewable energy annually, and would help reduce carbon emissions by more than 2.2 million metric tons yearly, “equivalent to taking over 492,000 cars off the road every year,” Hochul added in the release.