Paterson Serves Up Big Energy Plans in State of the State
Jan 7th, 2009 by Jervey
UPDATE: Here’s the Times on the energy portion of his talk:
“We are going to have take control over our use of energy,” Mr. Paterson said, calling for more energy efficiency and an overhaul of energy generation, transmission and distribution.
Noting that this year is the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s journey up the river that would later bear his name, Mr. Paterson vowed to “clean up” the river.
“By 2015, we want to meet 45 percent of our electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and clean renewable energy,” he said, calling the program a “45 by ‘15″ program and crediting his predecessors, Govs. George E. Pataki and Eliot Spitzer, for initiating it.
Homes and businesses should be retrofitted to adapt to new energy sources, and the Public Service Commission should help finance such efforts, Mr. Paterson said. The “45 by ‘15″ program will create 15,000 new jobs, he estimated.
He called for the development of a “plug-in hybrid electric vehicle,” saying that a “rechargeable electric battery that can run automobiles for a longer period of time and at lower cost” could be key to the upstate economy’s revival — not to mention the revival of the flagging economic condition of Detroit.
He called for the creation of an Energy Policy Institute to share ideas and research among schools and institutions in the state.
Big news out of Albany. Let’s start with NRDC’s comments:
In his State of the State speech today, Governor Paterson announced a comprehensive energy agenda that will reduce pollution, spur job growth and further propel New York forward as a leader in clean energy investment.
Paterson’s clean energy commitments to New Yorkers include:
- Mandating 30 percent of New York’s energy come from renewable sources by 2015.
- Making energy efficiency investments that will reduce New York’s “business as usual” energy consumption by 15 percent by 2015.
- Using the proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and other sources to create green jobs and lower consumer energy bills by promoting energy efficiency.
- Committing to coordinating and accelerating research in renewable technologies through the creation of the Battery Research Consortium to explore hybrid plug-in technology, as well as a New York Energy Policy Institute.
Full NRDC press release and Peter Lehner’s comments here.
We’ll have more on this once we dig into the plan a bit and as others chime in.