NYSERDA Receives $33.4 million in Administrative Funding for 2023, Up Nearly 11 Percent

 ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today approved New York State Energy Research Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) request for administrative funds for the 2023 Clean Energy Standard (CES) compliance year, with modifications, resulting in a $33.4 million budget, an 11 percent increase over the 2022 CES administrative funds. The increase in funding will help play a key role in allowing New York State to meet the nation-leading clean energy goals set forth by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, or Climate Act.

 “NYSERDA is an integral partner in helping reaching New York State’s nation-leading climate agenda,” said Commission Chair Rory M. Christian. “Our action today provides the necessary funding needed to continue their mission to support innovative programs and provide technical expertise to help New Yorkers increase efficiency, save money, use renewable energy, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.”

The funding will support CES programs to cover the administrative funding used for salaries and overhead, system development to maintain the systems to operate programs, and technical and implementation support. These funds will allow NYSERDA to hire additional staff, manage the ever-increasing and more complex renewable energy contracts and corresponding workload, and oversee increased technical services. NYSERDA’s workload in the form of contracts to be settled and subsequently managed has increased to date and the trend is expected to continue in the upcoming years.

Further, the need for continued and increased technical support is necessary as the amount of renewable generation increases in combination with the need to plan and build the necessary transmission and distribution systems to accommodate increased offshore wind and onshore renewable systems in the most efficient and economic manner.  

The approved funds will allow NYSERDA to hire additional staff, manage the increasing and more complex contracts and corresponding workload, and oversee the increase in technical services. 

New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan

New York State's nation-leading climate agenda is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy as New York State recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Enshrined into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York is on a path to achieve its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach economy wide carbon neutrality. It builds on New York's unprecedented investments to ramp-up clean energy including over $35 billion in 120 large-scale renewable and transmission projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce buildings emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.6 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. Combined, these investments are supporting more than 165,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector in 2021, a 2,100 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011 and a commitment to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. Under the Climate Act, New York will build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, while ensuring that at least 35 percent with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities, and advance progress towards the state's 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs of end-use energy savings.

Today’s decision may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission’s Web site at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Number 15-E-0302 in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number". Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.