Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin has denounced New York’s climate laws by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York Democrats as “delusions” and “left-wing recipes for energy and economic catastrophes.”
Zeldin’s Barb comes after the Trump administration last week shut down Imperial Wind Power Projects from the New York and New Jersey Coast.
“New York’s noble climate goals don’t have any viable plans to actually achieve them, and as a result, those who can’t afford the most economic pain are the people who are targeted and hurt most,” Zeldin told the Post.
New York foolishly pushed it to “safely extract” natural gas, ban gas hookups in construction of new buildings, gas stoves, eliminate the sale of gas-powered vehicles, and block the construction of new pipelines.
“This is a left-wing recipe for energy and economic catastrophes. The idea that the power of a baseload can be replaced with intermittent forces like wind is simply paranoid,” said a former Republican Long Island lawmaker who ran for the governor in 2022.
Other mainstream energy experts agreed that New York should remake climate laws to be more practical and not rely on solar and wind energy, and rely on unattainable orders to make carbon emissions free.
Under the plan, New York should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and get 100% zero emissions by 2040.
Under the regulations, the Empire State must generate 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, 6,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2025, and build 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030.
John Howard, former interim chairman of the Public Service Commission, said it was time to return to the drawings.
“We can flap our arms, which doesn’t mean we’re not going to fly,” Howard said. “Let’s face reality.”
The Climate Act was approved by Gov at the time. Andrew Cuomo and the 2019 Congress of Democracy. He said the law was “good intentional” but was overly optimistic and even naive.
“Things have changed,” Howard said. “Let’s understand what we’re trying to do.”
To make things even more complicated, he noted that favorable tax credits for renewable energy to promote solar and wind could be completely cut or eliminated in the next budget approved by President Trump and the Republican-run Congress.
New York residents may soon feel the consequences of climate law in their wallets.
Utility Giant Con Edison recently proposed a double-digit hike on gas and energy bills, partially denounced the hike for the cost of complying with the Green Mandate.
New York Democrats joined Republicans, urging the governor to pump the brakes on their timeline, and urged New Yorkers to switch from gas-powered cars to an ejection-free electric vehicle.
New Yorkers are also lined up against numerous new lithium-ion battery energy storage facilities planned throughout the Big Apple for fear of potentially causing toxic hell in residential areas.
Some critics warned that the Green Energy Act was wrong from the start.
“We’re looking forward to seeing you get the chance to see the world’s most innovative and important aspects of our efforts,” said Gavin Donohue, president and CEO of New York’s Independent Power Producer.
“We need to have an honest discussion about the unreality of the law.”
Donohue, who served on the state’s Climate Action Council, complained that there was no rigorous analysis of whether the deadline for transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energies such as solar and wind could be achieved.
“We have a condition that we do not issue fossil fuel permits,” he said.
Hochul on Sunday was uncommitted to the climate law amendment.
She criticized the Trump team’s decision to suspend the Imperial Wind Project, which was previously approved and is currently under construction.
“The governor is led by an example of New York’s continued transition to a clean energy economy. We have one of the cleanest grids in the country with 50% zero emissions.
“The governor realizes that when the lights are on and the costs are low, they can only continue to function as a good example. And she is free to use all the tools at her own whim to ensure that. That includes the full federally permitted Empire 1 wind project, where the Trump administration is actively confused, thousands of jobs are at risk, and it has a detrimental effect on the safe and reliable operation of New York’s electric grid.”
But Zeldin said it is the Trump administration that is demanding a more balanced energy and environmental approach.
“The Trump EPA understands that we must protect the environment and grow our economy. We are focused on protecting human health and the environment while encouraging America’s great comeback,” he said.
