Gang Green Opposes plan to Derail Gravy Train

In a letter to Sheldon Silver speaker of the Assembly and Dean Skelos Majority leader of the NYS Senate , the NY State Gang Green coalition voiced their opposition to the proposal in the Assembly budget (under A.9055-C Part N) to take $200 million dollars of clean energy program money and divert it to non-energy programs.

Cuts to dirty Green energy are long overdue.
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The Letter

March 13, 2012
Hon. Sheldon Silver
Speaker of the Assembly
New York State Assembly
Albany, New York 12248
Hon. Dean Skelos
Majority Leader
New York State Senate
Albany, New York 12247


Dear Speaker Silver and Majority Leader Skelos:
We commend the Legislature for its long support of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. However, we must express our deep concern about the appropriation of any funds administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)for New York’s successful energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. We strongly oppose the proposal in the Assembly budget to take $200 million dollars of clean energy program money and divert it to non-energy programs. We respectfully urge you not to include any reallocation of Renewable Portfolio Standard, System Benefits Charge, Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, or Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction funds in the final budget.

Your efforts have helped advance many effective energy policies that have promoted energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy technology, and improvements to our state’s air quality. We are happy to work with you on furthering our joint interests in these areas, but we firmly believe that any reduction in the state’s clean energy funds will undermine the programs’ goals
and be a detriment to the growth of New York’s clean energy economy. It also is our
understanding that much of these funds have already been “allocated” to fulfill contract obligations that cannot be abrogated.

Reallocating the funds for NYSERDA’s existing clean energy programs threatens to destabilize them, risking the loss of economic development opportunities and protection from volatile fossil fuel prices, as well as improvements to public health and the environment. New York’s energy efficiency and renewable energy programs are delivering significant economic, environmental and consumer benefits to New Yorkers and have been well administered by NYSERDA.

We urge you to take no action that could potentially jeopardize these programs. The current funding mechanisms for New York’s energy efficiency and renewable energy programs provide for stable and predictable long-term funding – a critical factor for these types of programs to be successful. This stability allows companies to invest in New York with confidence in the state’s commitment, and also allows NYSERDA to enter into the long-term contracts that are so often necessary to attract clean energy investments.

We urge you to not to include this language in the final budget and instead ensure that the existing stable, long-term and predictable funding mechanisms remain in place for New York’s energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Doing so will avoid destabilizing these important clean energy initiatives at this crucial time when they are needed more than ever.

Thank you for your consideration and support of the clean energy industry.

Groups endorsing this letter

Alliance for Clean Energy New York , Adirondack Council , Adirondack Solar,
American Lung Association in New York , Audubon New York ,
AWS Truepower ,CEC Energy , Citizens Campaign for the Environment ,
Citizens' Environmental Coalition, Environment New York,
Environmental Advocates of New York, ETM Solar Works,
GreenLogic Energy ,Hudson River Sloop Clearwater ,
Hudson Valley Clean Energy , Natural Resources Defense Council, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance , New York Public Interest Research Group, Pace Energy & Climate Center, Ridgeline Energy,
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter ,Sustainable Energy Developments , Vote Solar

Link here to read original Gang Green Coalition letter