Posted on 09/10/2025 5:35:06 AM PDT by MtnClimber
As I have written many times, with New York’s fantasy “net zero” energy plans, it is not a question of whether they will fail, but only when and how. The Democrats, who dominate state politics, and their environmentalist allies, are firmly committed to the impossible. Thus, they are caught in a trap of their own making, and from which there is no good escape. The fact that they are caught in this trap is obvious to anyone with basic arithmetic skills, but almost all of our politicians and environmentalists lack those. However, a small handful of them are starting to sense the impending crash. This makes for amusing interplay.
The state’s Climate Act of 2019 directs hostility to fossil fuels on all fronts. In the realm of electricity, the Act mandates 70% of electricity from “renewables” by 2030, and 100% from “zero emissions” sources by 2040. The official plan for achieving those mandates basically boils down to building lots of wind turbines and solar panels, and then lots more of same — principally off-shore wind turbines — until a flood of infinitely “free” wind and sun washes over us and brings us to energy nirvana. Meanwhile, also on the path to “net zero,” development of natural gas infrastructure is to be halted and reversed. More than half way to the 2030 deadline, the progress toward the 70% renewable electricity goal has actually been negative (due to the premature closure of two large nuclear power plants). On the natural gas front, two big pipeline projects have been blocked by the state environmental regulator (DEC) on phony grounds of “water quality.” And meanwhile there are plans for big new electricity consumers (chip plants and data centers) in the upstate area.
Time to crank up the wind turbines! And then President Trump swept back into office, and as one of his first acts pulled the plug on the off-shore wind projects.
So as of this past Spring, here’s where we were: lots of new electricity demand coming along, all new natural gas infrastructure (including two big new pipelines) blocked, and the planned future of wind turbines (which wouldn’t work in any event) also blocked. Does anyone see a potential problem here?
I have called our Governor Kathy Hochul an “airhead,” which may be unfair to air, but even an airhead could see that something here was not going to work. On May 29 the New York Times reported that the two blocked natural gas pipelines were going to get a “second chance.” Apparently, there had been some kind of informal, oral deal struck between Governor Hochul and President Trump, whereby Hochul would unblock the two natural gas pipelines, in return for Trump unblocking at least one of the big off-shore wind farms that Hochul wants to build. This subject was covered at Manhattan Contrarian here on June 4.
But was this apparent “agreement” real or not? In the intervening three months I have been keeping my eye open for any concrete developments. There have finally been some in the past few days.
Spectrum News reports here on September 4 that the Department of Environmental Conservation — an agency under the control of the Governor — after having rejected the two natural gas pipelines back in 2020, had instituted a “brief” re-opening of the “comment period” on the issue:
The Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline (NESE) and Constitution Pipelines have both faced repeated rejections from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, but have seen their applications revived after conversations between Hochul and President Donald Trump earlier this year. NESE is further along and recently saw the public comment period conclude after a brief extension. . . .
This looks like code that approval of the pipelines by the state regulator may be imminent. This immediately set off a frenzy of reactions from the crazy left in the legislature. Liz Krueger, the State Senator who represents the Upper East Side of Manhattan, led the charge. Here is a picture of Ms. Krueger:
“We can’t do this in New York,” state Sen. Liz Krueger said in a Thursday morning virtual news conference. “They are dangerous, they will do harm to people in any number of communities across the state. They are not necessary, they will put us backwards on our goals,” she said of the pipelines. “States need to stand up and say, ‘no, we’re not going to do these things,’” she said. “There is no better example for us than New York having to say, ‘no, we’re not going to approve pipelines we’ve already rejected on endless environmental grounds,’” she said.
And what exactly is Ms. Kreuger’s plan to provide electricity for our 21st century economy? She did not see fit to address that issue. She comes from the class of people who think that electricity comes from wall sockets.
Others from the loony left brigade of the state legislature also joined the fray. For example, Assemblymember Anna Kelles — the representative from ultra-crazy Ithaca — piped in:
Assemblymember Anna Kelles added that she expects the state will be sued for violating its own climate law if the pipelines are approved.
Here is a response from a representative of the Governor named Ken Lovett:
As the White House rejects any new permitting of offshore wind projects and Republicans in Congress cut billions in subsidies for renewable energy, we'd hope these legislators and advocates would join the Governor in pushing an all-of-the-above approach to ensure we keep the lights on for New Yorkers. . . .
Sorry, Ken, but I don’t think that there is any compromise with these people who think that energy is produced by magic. I’m looking forward to seeing the factions of the New York Democratic Party fight this out in coming months. I’m kind of hoping that the crazies win, at least initially, and we get a few good blackouts to educate us.
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Mamdani is coming along at just the time where he could do the most damage to NYC.
BTTT
You have to be an idiot to live in Commie NY.
Other states with morons in charge
2040
Oregon: Greenhouse gas emissions reduced 100 percent below baseline emissions.
2045
California: Net-zero target by 2045 and 100% renewable energy by 2045.
Hawaii: Net-zero target by 2045.
New Mexico: 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045.
2050
Colorado: Net-zero emissions by 2050.
Louisiana: Net-zero target by 2050.
Maine: Net-zero target by 2050.
North Carolina: Carbon neutrality in the electricity sector by 2050.
Other States with Goals
Illinois: Passed laws for 100% carbon-free electricity.
Massachusetts: Passed laws for 100% carbon-free electricity.
New York: 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.
Rhode Island: Passed laws for 100% carbon-free electricity.
Washington: Passed laws to implement climate and clean energy goals, taking steps toward net-zero.
Missed my state MD
Maryland aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions statewide by 2045, as mandated by the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. This ambitious goal includes an interim target of a 60% reduction in emissions from 2006 levels by 2031. To meet these targets, Maryland is implementing policies such as a Building Energy Performance Standard for large buildings to achieve net-zero by 2040, promoting electric vehicles, and transitioning state-owned buildings to all-electric new construction.
In NY, the Democrats are invincible. Any and all failures will be blamed on the mere existence of conservatives.
Trump cut money for a project here in Virginia
Trump admin cancels $39M meant for Norfolk’s Fairwinds Landing because of wind energy association
This is a green energy boondoggle, it’s a shame that it has progressed as far as it has.
Lots of brain-dead in NY
Fake solutions to a fake problem so they can get more grift, all while they fake hate on the rich.
It is not just NY. Here in NH they proposed a 3’ diameter NG pipeline that would start in PA, go through NY, MA, NH and then back into MA.
In NH it would travel along an existing ROW that a 1’ diameter NG pipeline already traverses.
However, the fear mongering NIMBY took over. It got voted down in every town referendum. Somewhat because we in NH do not need the NG. It was primarily going to benefit MA, RI & CT where they have shut down nuclear plants. Although now we use primarily NG and nuclear(Seabrook) here in NH to generate electricity.
The problem is there are only two main NG pipelines coming into NH. One down through ME from Canada. The other comes up from MA. The issue is that a lot of NG comes into the port of Boston as LNG. Which means it travels from TX(or other US origins) on US flagged LNG tanker ships. Which have to abide by the Jones Act. Which primarily means they pay the crews more. Most are union ship crews.
It also means that when the demand for LNG went up in Europe due to the Ukraine war that affected the price for LNG delivered Boston too. That then increased the price that Eversource(the main New England electric utility) wanted for a KHW of electricity delivered to their customers.
I am locked in a contract with a secondary supplier of electricity. However, there were many people around here complaining on the local Facebook page that their bills had DOUBLED. I immediately asked those complainers whether they had been in favor of the Kinder Morgan proposed natural gas pipeline OR they have been against it? Most of them never responded. Which means they were against it. Or they did not understand that the pipeline would have lowered their electricity bills. That is because they have absolutely no idea HOW their electricity is generated. It just magically comes out of the wall socket.
Another part of NY’s energy problem: a hostility to nuclear power that is just now beginning to recede. The state even tore-down a newly completed nuclear power plant.
The cost of a US crew is TEENY TINY microscopic compared to the value of the cargo. For cripes sake maybe we should outlaw US labor.
Then WHY is the cost to use US flagged vessels so much more?
The insurance?
The benefits?
The health insurance?
Why are ALL cruise ships flagged in Liberia? or other foreign countries?
The US law states that ANY vessel moving cargo from one US port to another US port has to follow the rules of the Jones Act. What makes the movement of that cargo so much more expensive?
If Canada goes ‘green’, much of NY will go dark.
Therein lies the rub. Not just with so-called "green energy" but virtually every other cause the Dims push. It's easy to demand that "somebody do something", as long as it's always somebody else having to do it. A leftist voter's worldview is easy for her to justify in her mind because she doesn't demand of herself that she be the one to figure out the impossible solution to her nonexistent problem.
Or another way to say it: there's talkers and then there's doers. Talkers are great at patting themselves on the back for fussing at doers not doing enough. That's all it takes for talkers to be satisfied. That's why fake causes are popular among the left.
Us conservatives tend to gravitate to being doers. That's one reason we're against impossible "solutions" to non-existent problems that wind up doing way more harm than the imagined good. That's also why we, as individuals, are more apt to take matters into our own hands to fix problems.
Exhibit A: My fussing about sky high energy prices due to the Dims' global warmageddon cult energy policies motivated me to research if it'd be feasible to be more energy self-reliant (My home is now more energy efficient, also has solar, and the car we had to replace anyway was replaced with an EV which we usually can provide the power for to charge it.) I know people who believe in the global warming doomsday cult stuff, but not one of them actually acts on it. Because they're not doers, they're talkers.
The MOST liberals ever seem to DO is put up a sign in front of their house virtue signaling they are for this cause.
For example, the woman down the road with a Yellow and Blue “I stand with Ukraine” sign.
Other than going on line and buying the sign from Amazon what has she done?
Maybe she even got suckered into donating money.
It made her FEEL good about herself after. Putin is a bad guy.
Back in the 1980s the John Sununu(they called him SuNUKEnu) NH government and Public Service of NH proposed building the Nuclear plant at Seabrook, NH. It was protested against by every NO NUKES Liberal in NH, ME, MA.
There were NO EVACUATION POSSIBLE signs on the causeway to Plum Island, MA for thirty years. It would have been in the fifteen mile circle IF the reactor ever melted down.
They got federal approval to build two reactors there. They only built one. Today(40 years later) it still is the number one provider of electricity to the state of NH. What they really need to do is BUILD the other reactor. Before the current one is not longer viable. Meaning we need to PLAN AHEAD.
It’s marginally more expensive to use US flag vessel so to Increase profits they use tricks. This makes no difference to you the end ussr. When the cargo is worth millions the price YOU pay is unchanged.
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