New York Significantly Overhauls Siting Process To Boost Renewable Energy Development

New York's recently passed 2020-2021 budget contains a significant overhaul to the siting process for large-scale renewable energy projects, including onshore wind and solar. The new guidance provides renewable energy developers with hope that an accelerated and more well-defined siting processes will remove a major project hurdle and jumpstart renewable energy development in the state.

Under Article 10 of the Public Service Law, first enacted in 2011, large-scale renewable energy projects have struggled to navigate an arduous, arbitrary and slow siting process envisioned for large fossil-fired generation assets. The current Article 10 siting law – which grants significant powers to intervenors, takes years to navigate and lacks a set of uniform standards – has acted to stymie renewable energy development. Only a handful of renewable energy projects have received final approval under existing law.