New York passes legislation to streamline renewables planning

The state of New York has passed legislation that will “dramatically” speed up the permitting process for renewable energy projects. The so-called Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act will facilitate the state in reaching its goal of sourcing 70% of its power from renewable power projects and help it recover from the coronavirus crisis, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) said last week. The new legislation envisages the creation of a new Office of Renewable Energy Permitting that will introduce a siting process specifically designed for renewable power projects. The entity will adopt uniform standards for the environmental impacts commonly related to renewable energy projects and identify some mitigation steps, as well as environmental conservation measures. Additionally, it will develop draft permits for public comment and make sure that complete applications are acted upon within a year, except for when the project involves former commercial and industrial sites. In this case, the applications will be reviewed within six months.