The New York Public Service Commission late last week approved Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 10-year, $5 billion Clean Energy Fund, which will support the industrial development of clean forms of energy in the state.
The fund will be managed by the state’s Energy Research and Development Authority and is expected to provide utility-bill savings of approximately $39 billion over 10 years. The fund will operate in four areas: innovation and research, solar, market development and efforts to stimulate investment in clean-energy technology.
“New York is a national leader in combating climate change and growing the clean-energy economy – and today, we are taking the next big step forward,” Cuomo said. “This unparalleled $5 billion investment will leverage more than $29 billion in private-sector funding and open the door to new clean-energy opportunities for years to come. We are raising the bar when it comes to increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing harmful carbon emissions, and I am proud that the Empire State is continuing to set the example for the future.”
The fund also supports the goals of the Green Energy Standard and of Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision Strategy to eliminate approximately 133 million tons of carbon emissions from the environment, with an ultimate goal of deriving 50 percent of the state’s electricity production from clean, renewable sources by 2030.
