Volts How to get New York back on track toward its climate targets
Oct 17, 2025
Doreen Harris, the President of NYSERDA, joins to discuss New York's ambitious climate goals and the challenges of meeting them. She highlights successes in community solar and offshore wind projects, while addressing slow renewable scaling and transportation decarbonization. Doreen explains the hurdles with permitting and funding within the energy transition. She also emphasizes the need for public education on climate costs and explores innovative solutions like partnering with data centers to enhance grid benefits.
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Balancing Ambition With Practical Constraints
- NYSERDA balances ambitious statutory climate goals with tradeoffs like reliability, affordability, and economic health.
- Doreen Harris argues realistic, phased planning is needed to reconcile goals with practical constraints.
Cap-And-Invest Is Phased, Not Dead
- The Clean Air Initiative (cap-and-invest) remains in process but is being phased and led by DEC with NYSERDA preparing to design auctions.
- Meanwhile the state is pouring funds into the Sustainable Future Program to invest directly in the transition.
Offshore Wind Is Critical But Vulnerable
- Offshore wind is central to New York's plan but faces federal permitting and political headwinds that delay projects.
- The state still has operating and under-construction projects and aims to minimize gaps between them.