NYCLV Rates NY Legislators – Marie French – POLITICO – The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) puts out an annual evaluation of “lawmakers’ performance based on votes on and sponsorship of its priority bills. The rankings are often touted by lawmakers as evidence of a strong environmental record. Both Assembly and Senate Democrats had average scores of 92 percent this session. Last year, Assembly Democrats had an average of 90 percent and Senate Democrats a score of 97 percent. “ Article here with link to the report and your Legislator’s score. https://nylcv.org/wp-content/uploads/NYLCV_2022_StateScorecard_FINAL_WEB.pdf.

Pilot: Hydrogen Combustion at NYPA Peaker Plant – Marie French – POLITICO – “When hydrogen was blended into the turbine at 35 percent by volume, it reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 14 percent, according to the results… NYPA ran the pilot using a 47 megawatt General Electric turbine — similar to a jet engine — at its Brentwood plant on Long island.” This pilot begs significant questions, including how much electricity would this turbine produce vs. how much renewable electricity would be required to produce the “green hydrogen”. The findings confirm concerns expressed by Clean Energy Group and other advocates and energy experts, that burning hydrogen in power plants increases emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). NOx emissions have serious health impacts on surrounding communities, leading to severe respiratory and cardiovascular conditions and exacerbating existing inequities. The demonstration found that NOx emissions steadily increased as hydrogen blending levels were increased, raising NOx emissions rates by as much as 24%. The only way that power plant operators were able to keep NOx air emissions within permitted levels was by significantly increasing water injection at the site, which raises additional sustainability concerns. PEAK Coalition issued a statement highlighting these concerns.

Understaffing Threatens to Slow New York Climate Plans – Colin Kinniburgh – New York Focus – “To meet the state’s climate mandates, officials are promising vast amounts of new renewables on an ever-tightening timeline. So far, it’s not happening quickly enough: Analysis by the clean energy advocacy group RMI finds that New York is likely to miss its 2030 wind and solar targets by about a third. Watchdogs blame a wide range of factors, from local opposition to a lack of transmission lines. But there’s another big stumbling block that has gotten far less attention. According to clean energy advocates and regulatory documents reviewed by New York Focus, the key bodies tasked with implementing the state’s climate agenda simply don’t have enough staff. (from 2022 09 29– City & State First Read) Full article here.