NYSERDA

emissions suggest electrifying that transportation fuel load and moving that onto an ever-cleaner electricity grid. The same goes for on-site fuel uses; there are still many homes and buildings that heat space and water with fuel, whether natural gas, oil, or propane. It’s also essential to look at electrifying that load with heat pump technology, whether air source or geothermal, which will also result in reduced greenhouse gas emissions from those sectors. To that end, Williams says, “We’re looking at building 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2035. It’s an industry still very nascent in this country, but we’re hoping to take the learnings of the European experience. By planning 9,000 megawatts, we’re seeing a very active market response, and developers are very interested in coming to New York to make those investments and help New York State meet those goals. With solar energy, we’re looking at 6,000 megawatts of solar by 2025. That is an exponential increase in how much solar we have today. Our current goal is 3,000 megawatts by 2023. We had to double that to make sure solar is on a track to meet the policy goals; the same with doubling land-based wind. The amount of energy efficiency we’re looking at is roughly equivalent to about 25 percent of the all-in-building energy demands.” The professionals at NYSERDA are very keen on seeing that New York’s economic opportunities and environmental requirements are all met and satisfied. “Whether it’s businesses becoming more energy-efficient or consumers looking for renewable and clean energy outcomes, we’re very much looking to ensure that all New Yorkers can realize the benefits of the clean energy strategies that we have in place,” states Williams. “Aside from looking at only the technologies and the market, we engage local communities and individuals so they have a good understanding of the value clean energy provides, and how NYSERDA’s clean energy communities program can best help the leadership within the community understand why clean energy is so important, and how to go about realizing those clean energy outcomes.”