Marie French discusses grid reliability challenges and grid operator warnings regarding transmission project timelines and peaker plant retirements.
Assertion Supported
French: New York needs roughly 18GW of offshore wind for 2040 goals
“To actually achieve the state's, you know, ultimate twenty-thirty and twenty-forty goals We're going to need a whole lot more offshore wind than just nine gigawatts. We're going to need much more than that. I think the Climate Action Council, you know, support…”
Assertion Supported
French: NY climate law contains reliability off-ramps for 2040 target
“The climate law has off-ramps. The Public Service Commission, if it can, is concerned about reliability, Can, you know, be like, well, I guess we're not going to hit zero emissions by 2040.”
Assertion Supported
French: New York's first offshore wind projects face 1-2 year delays
“These projects, you know, when they were first announced, the first two that have state contracts, when they were announced in twenty-nineteen by Governor Andrew Cuomo, you know, they were supposed to be online, I think twenty-twenty-four, May twenty-twenty-fo…”
Assertion Supported
French: New York's renewable siting office still staffing up after two years
“OREZ, the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, which is the new state office that was set up to do permitting and speed it up, essentially, for renewable developers, is still staffing up. And it's been two years. So, you know, we're still waiting.”
Insight
French: Battery storage cannot currently replace peaker plants one-to-one
“Well, I don't think batteries, right now, battery storage technology is not necessarily a one-to-one replacement for peakers, right? We don't necessarily have a battery that can run for several days or, you know, twelve-plus hours, and batteries need to rechar…”
Assertion Partly supported
French: Con Ed failed to award contracts in 300MW storage RFP
“Con Ed was required by the Public Service Commission to issue a utility scale request for proposals for battery storage. I believe, 300 megawatts was the target. I mean, other, other utilities were also required to issue RFPs, but they were like, you know, 10,…”