New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration is boosting natural gas production that does not adhere to the state’s controversial green energy law, the New York Post reported on Sunday.
Facing criticism over significant proposed increases in gas and electric prices, the administration approved permits to expand the capacity of the 414-mile Iroquois pipeline and pump more natural gas into New York City and southern Connecticut in order to maintain enough supply during the coldest portion of the year.
Permission was given by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) even though it admitted that it’s “inconsistent with and would interfere with” the Empire State’s greenhouse gas emission limits and would not adhere to the plan to lessen New York’s dependence on fossil fuels.
“Safety and reliability can’t be compromised,” explained John Howard, a former commissioner of the state Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulated utilities. “The natural gas system could fail under certain circumstances.”
A DEC spokesperson called the permits “essential” to keep up the gas supply downstate.
“As a condition of the permits, Iroquois will invest $5 million in mitigation efforts to address greenhouse gas emissions and make investments to reduce environmental burdens within disadvantaged communities, such as a heat pump program and EV charging stations,” the spokesperson said. “This investment is in addition to other measures Iroquois will implement to minimize emissions.”
Despite this, climate activists disrupted a PSC meeting last week to protest the permits, saying the gas supply expansion flies in the face of the state’s green energy goals and hurts the environment and public health, according to the New York Post.
However, Hochul’s office declared that the boost in production up does not violate her clean energy goals.
“From signing the Climate Superfund Act to investing $1 billion in clean energy projects in this year’s budget, Governor Hochul has demonstrated a clear commitment to an affordable and reliable transition to a clean energy economy,” said spokesman Paul DeMichele. “Projects like this one are thoroughly evaluated to advance that goal while also ensuring the safety and reliability of our energy distribution systems.”
According to the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, the state and its energy producers and consumers are required to reduce the use of fossil fuels by cutting gas emissions by 40% by 2030 with the goal of achieving 100% zero-carbon-emission electricity by 2040.
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