Where does New York stand on its ambitious climate goals—and how should it be advancing the clean energy sector?
These questions were at the crux of a lively February 9 event, presented by Crain’s New York Business, titled “New York’s Clean Energy Economy.” The gathering featured a conversation between Doreen M. Harris, president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and Cory Schouten, editor-in-chief of Crain’s. Following was a sponsored panel discussion moderated by Fred P. Gabriel, publisher and executive editor of the publication.
In the main, panelists were optimistic about the state’s progress toward climate goals but tempered that hopefulness with respect for the challenge at hand.
“We can do this. We can have a zero fossil electricity system by 2040,” said Ben Wilson, chief strategy and external affairs officer for National Grid. “But we must focus on building offshore wind and solar capacity. The grid will need to be twice its current size.”
To that end, said Kelly Speakes-Backman, executive vice president of public affairs at Invenergy, improved coordination is key. “We need collaboration across agencies and between states,” she said. “That will accelerate permitting and on-the-ground progress.”
To Doug Perkins, president and project director at Community Offshore Wind, garnering community support for infrastructure projects is vital to the entire green energy transition. “We take a hyperlocal approach at our company, heading out into the communities that will host our facilities to truly listen to and understand their concerns,” he said. “Then we can design our projects as responsibly as possible.”
Local governments can be important partners in that process, according to Wilson. “If you live in legacy housing with poor insulation and are told you should electrify your heating, how do you know you’re not being taken for a ride?” he posed. “Local leaders can serve as trusted advisors, helping their constituents understand new energy options as we roll them out.”
Speakes-Backman, for one, takes solace in increased climate change understanding among the masses. “People realize our climate is warming,” she said. “And the way consumers use energy is changing.”
Popular buy-in for the energy transition might swell if consumers understood how greening the grid could prove an economic godsend, not only an environmental one.