Posted on 01/16/2026 6:09:01 AM PST by MtnClimber
Every time I write about this subject it has gotten yet a little more ridiculous. The background is that back in 2019 New York, both State and City, set themselves targets for “emissions” reductions and energy transformation that are quite literally impossible as a matter of physics, thermodynamics, and cost. And then, just to show who is the boss here, they made the impossible targets mandatory by statute.
In the case of New York State, the statute in question is the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA or Climate Act). Among the many requirements of that statute, the most immediate are a mandate for 70% of electricity from “renewables” by 2030 (known as “70x30”), and another mandate for 100% of electricity from “zero emissions” sources by 2040 (“100x40”). I should also mention that the CLCPA in addition contains a deadline of January 1, 2024, for the State Department of Environmental Conservation to issue regulations informing us peasants how these various impossible mandates of the CLCPA were/are going to be achieved. That latter deadline, you will note, has long passed.
So here we are, seven years into the CLCPA morass. The 2024 deadline for regulations got completely blown off without any attempt at compliance. With four years to go toward the “70x30” mandate, it would be a gross exaggeration to describe progress toward that target as “negligible.” The wind and solar facilities that were supposed to be generating our electricity by now have mostly not been built, and the few that have been built generate very little and at inconvenient times. The natural gas plants that are the backbone of the current system and were thought to be obsolete and ready for closure have gotten seven years older without any useful upgrades or replacements under construction. And our lightweight Governor, running for re-election, can’t afford to offend the climate activists who are a key part of her base.
So what is the strategy? As far as I can tell, Hochul’s strategy is to pretend that there is no Climate Act, and hope nobody will call her on it. To use an analogy that I have used before, she is like Wile E. Coyote, having run off the edge of the cliff, and just beginning to notice that he is about to fall to the bottom of the canyon.
There was Governor Hochul on January 13, just a couple of days ago, delivering her annual “State of the State” address. Here is the full text. Somehow, all mention of the Climate Act and its mandates has magically disappeared. You’ll need to scroll about 80% of the way through the blather of this speech to find any mention of energy policy at all. And when you get there, it’s about nuclear:
And speaking of preparing for the future, we must plan for the energy that industries require. Last summer, I took the bold step of greenlighting the first nuclear power project in a generation, a vital part of our all-of-the-above approach to energy. At the time we set a goal of building one gigawatt of nuclear power. But if there’s one thing I believe, it’s this: Go big or go home. So I’ve decided to raise the bar to five gigawatts. That’s more nuclear energy than has been built anywhere in the United States in the last 30 years!
“Bold!” Readers may remember that back last June Hochul shocked the world by announcing that she had commissioned a State agency, the New York Power Authority, to go out a build one new 1 GW nuclear plant. At the time, this was no more than a raw concept. There was not so much as a selected site, let alone a proposed design or a vendor. Here seven months later, there still is not a selected site. The State is out inquiring among upstate communities as to which ones might be interested. The last nuclear plants to be built in the U.S. (the Vogtle plants in Georgia) were 14 years from shovels in the ground to commercial operation. Here we are easily three years, and probably five, before shovels in the ground. This is not happening in any relevant time frame.
And I like that line about “our all-of-the-above approach to energy.” You have to wonder if Governor Hochul has even read the CLCPA. Its approach to energy is the opposite of “all-of-the-above.” Some might call the statute’s approach “ban everything that works.”
Over at the Gothamist today, they seek out some environmentalists who are not fooled by Hochul’s pretending not to know about the CLCPA. The headline is “Climate activists find little comfort in Gov. Hochul’s State of the State message.” For example, there is this from a co-founder of the Seneca Lake Guardian:
“ Governor Hochul has betrayed New Yorkers. She's not following the law, plain and simple, and all of us are deeply disappointed in her failure to lead and represent the people when it comes to public health and affordability in this state,” said Yvonne Taylor, co-founder of Seneca Lake Guardian.
And what’s up with that January 2024 deadline for regulations that Hochul just completely blew off? Readers may remember that back in October a State Supreme Court Justice ordered the State to publish the missing regulations by February. He gave the State the several months from October to February so that the administration could go to the Legislature to seek a modification of the statute if they thought the mandates were infeasible. Now we are in mid-January.
So what has the State done? It has appealed the Supreme Court’s ruling. If you are the State of New York in state court, filing an appeal gives you an automatic stay of the court’s order. (Private litigants get no such consideration.). Given the pace at which the appeals court (known as the Appellate Division) moves, that will likely put any decision on whether the State must publish the CLCPA regulations well past November’s election.
Thus, as far as we can tell, Kathy Hochul, along with the citizens of New York State, will live like Wile E. Coyote, suspended in mid-air over the energy canyon, at least through the Fall.
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Manhattan Contrarian ping
Just the standard leftist lawfare.
Should Trumps’s AG take a look at NYC voting lists?
Bum
Prove there is manmade climate change. It is a Democrat Communist Laundry to steal your money.
Yeah, welcome to our world (California) - where the lefty governor Gavin Newsom is all about getting rid of the internal combustion engine, gas ranges and stoves - and anything else generated by evil oil companies.
Result: Cost of energy is 66% higher in the state of California, gas is over $4.00/gallon, two refineries are closing and “big evil oil” is moving operations out of the state.
It is my understanding (which may be wrong) that the State of New York was intending to rely on Canadian hydropower.
Of course, the Canadian ‘green’ folks would want that hydropower for Canadians.
“Cost of energy is 66% higher in the state of California”
The cost of many things are higher in California.
The prices in the Kroger were shocking to me. I paid $2.99 for a half gallon of milk, In Florida I paid $2.99 for a gallon of milk. The gallon of milk is now $2.33 here in the rather cold this morning Sunshine State. Fortunately, the gray gloom is gone.
Yes, my relatives are shocked when they visit Califoria from Colorado.
If she persists and I lived in NY, I start building my walking stamina.
Kwh not long ago there was .15 per kwh. Now that ny has imp.imented their “electric only” for new bui,dings (ie, no oil or gas or wood) the price had jumped to .22 kwh, gosh, didnt see that coming /s its likely gonna go higher too
[[“ Governor Hochul has betrayed New Yorkers]]
No of course not. The whole thing was a ruse to increase electric prices, home costs, taxes etc. 5o pay for the illegals flooding the state
This has to be the trifecta of imbecilic move.s by the democrats on NYS. Between the genocide done by Cuomo, going green, and electing a communist as NYC mayor, New York Voters are going to get it good and hard. 2026 will be the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Does anyone really believe it will be recognized or just some people did something bad.
The only purpose of such programs is and always has been to set aside $$ for skimming by DNC.
That is it.
She apparently want 8 small plants, although one AP-1000 would meet the demand.
An AP1000 would be great if Westinghouse can build it on cost. Remember the 2017 Westinghouse bankruptcy from reactor cost overruns.
Yes I remember the bankruptcy, and the reason for it. Now that two units in Georgia are operating, and construction of the two units in South Carolina is resuming. Toshiba should have a better understanding of the costs involved as well as not having to recover the first of a kind development costs.
Full disclosure, I worked on the final balance of plant design for the AP-1000.
That is pretty cool!
Less so than you might think.
Texas has had an all Republican controlled legislator, governorship and Supreme Court for 20+ years now. No one at the state legislator or governorship forced any development mandates in Texas we have a wide open deregulated for profit grid.
That said Texas right now this second is 67.5% solar and wind power for the ERCOT grid we hit 75% for 4 hours yesterday and the day before ERCOT curtailed solar to keep 10 inertia up via 10% gas turbines which ran at negative $7 megawatt hour at that. Meaning ERCOT payed people to consume power via the wholesale auctions which are in a 15 min rolling basis it’s $3.5 at the North hub right now and the West Texas hub is $3.4 per megawatt that’s 3/10s of a cent per kWh. Joe six pack will never see that his RPP is making bank today though. Again Texas was set up for profits corporate profits that is. If you are a VPP you can buy and sell on the wholesale market. Texas is the fastest growing energy market in the USA and we produce double what California and Florida at #2-#3 combined they don’t equal our production and last year
In inflation adjusted money Texas power got cheaper as we added the nation’s most wind AND solar by far.
Here is the comparison to the other states in inflation adjusted money, solar is the fastest growing energy source in Texas we will have 75,000 megawatts worth by 2030 that’s just what has been financed and permitted more is coming. That more than doubles the size of the Texas renewables you add in the 40,000 megawatts of megapacks also financed permitted and approved those are 4 hr minimum rated packs could be 8s but to be permitted they are minimum 4. Which means we have the equivalent of 40 new 1GW nukes for any four hour peak demand period coming.
https://x.com/JessePeltan/status/1990816983772705226
How much did wind and solar actually make in total megawatt hours yon ask? More than natural gas combined cycle turbines. Peaker and simple cycle are in purple and only 7% of the total about what our two nukes made.
https://x.com/JessePeltan/status/1990813803336941855
Here is the ERCOT grid live stream.
“DateTime Solar Wind Hydro Power Storage Other Natural Gas Coal and Lignite Nuclear
2026-01-17 09:04:57 15398.8 15264 0 -271.3 50 14793.6 5929.3 5122.9
2026-01-17 09:09:57 16396.2 15346 0 -628.9 49.8 14076.6 5793.3 5120.6
2026-01-17 09:14:57 17153 15509.7 0 91 49.9 12684.6 5715.9 5120.8
2026-01-17 09:19:57 18017 15728.1 0 -401.9 49.8 12261.8 5570.3 5121.9
2026-01-17 09:24:57 17918 16078.6 0 -181.7 49.8 11869.4 5462.7 5122.5
2026-01-17 09:29:57 18860 16458.1 0 -1035.7 49.9 11571.2 5330.8 5122.6
2026-01-17 09:34:57 19318.1 16826.7 0 -1469.2 49.7 11167.3 5205.7 5123.9
2026-01-17 09:39:57 19722.7 17474.9 0 -1926.6 49.8 10696.5 5103.8 5121.8
2026-01-17 09:44:57 19621.9 18202.4 0 -2252.7 49.9 10314.7 5043.8 5122.7
2026-01-17 09:49:57 19607 18827.7 0 -2397 49.9 9970.8 4989.6 5122.7
2026-01-17 09:54:57 19314.8 19314.9 0 -2263.5 50 9768.5 4965.1 5124.4
2026-01-17 09:59:57 19597.3 19434.2 0 -2425.9 49.9 9657 4937 5122.1
2026-01-17 10:04:57 19484.7 19644.8 0 -2486.6 49.8 9500.6 4930.8 5123.5
2026-01-17 10:09:57 19609 19818 0 -2627.1 49.8 9439.1 4916.8 5123
2026-01-17 10:14:57 19033.1 20111.5 0 -2382.9 49.9 9566.4 4938.6 5122.6
2026-01-17 10:19:57 18789.8 20222.7 0 -2403 49.9 9597.5 4941.2 5123.5
2026-01-17 10:24:57 18443.7 19710.2 0 -1640.7 50.2 9628.4 4973.1 5123.8
2026-01-17 10:29:57 18817.8 20199.8 0 -2412.3 50 9537.2 4951.9 5122.1
2026-01-17 10:34:57 18785.2 20228.4 0 -2300.5 50.1 9556.9 4938.9 5121.7
2026-01-17 10:39:57 18657.8 20197.3 0 -2069.3 50.2 9495.9 4892.8 5122
2026-01-17 10:44:57 18926.9 20066 0 -2276 50.1 9488.2 4927.7 5123.2
2026-01-17 10:49:57 19673.6 19937.7 0 -2981.5 50 9489.3 4984.7 5122.3
2026-01-17 10:54:57 19612.9 20108.2 0 -3182.4 50 9510.8 4914.5 5122.4
2026-01-17 10:59:57 19407 19946.8 0 -2895.6 49.8 9461.4 4867.2 5122.4
2026-01-17 11:04:57 19325.4 19955.5 0 -2802 50.3 9421.4 4822.8 5123.9
2026-01-17 11:09:57 19628.7 19992.2 0 -2841 50.1 9240.1 4740.7 5122.9
2026-01-17 11:14:57 19288.8 20241.6 0 -2841.6 50 9188.1 4720.5 5124.1
2026-01-17 11:19:57 18856.7 20180.2 0 -2303.6 50.1 9231.3 4712.9 5123.4
“DateTime Actual Hourly Avg.
2026-01-17 01:00:00 48918.8
2026-01-17 02:00:00 48464.25
2026-01-17 03:00:00 48387.85
2026-01-17 04:00:00 48706.78
2026-01-17 05:00:00 49485.08
2026-01-17 06:00:00 50979.99
2026-01-17 07:00:00 53006.69
2026-01-17 08:00:00 55029.05
2026-01-17 09:00:00 56072.16
2026-01-17 10:00:00 56224.33
2026-01-17 11:00:00 56055.91
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