From: Anthony Kownack, Corning Place Communications

Subject: Weekly Articles of Interest (New York Propane Gas Association)

Date: September 15, 2023

Bill,

Below, please find a compilation of articles, issued this week, that may be of interest to you. Articles
are also hyperlinked within each headline.

Thank you,

Anthony

Weekly Articles of Interest Include:

 Hydropower project asks New York for more money, imitating offshore wind
developers
 More solar panels, wind turbines likely for NYC as new green energy rules advance
 Facing inflation, major wind developer's stock price drops
 State commission gets mixed reception at hearing on fully public LIPA

Hydropower project asks New York for more money, imitating offshore wind developers
Caroline Spivack
Crain’s New York Business
September 8, 2023

The developer behind a massive clean-energy project set to deliver Canadian hydropower to New
York is arguing for a bigger state subsidy, now that offshore wind developers are also petitioning
the state.

Blackstone-owned Transmission Developers is leading the $6 billion Champlain Hudson Power

Express Project and argued in filings to the Public Service Commission last week that their
undertaking is just as deserving of "cost adjustments" as the four offshore wind projects. The wind
projects' developers called on the state this summer for greater subsidies due to unforeseen costs.
“Like the other many developers that have filed petitions, Petitioners faced global supply chain
shortages and market disruption, and the substantial negative impacts of inflation and interest rate
increases on construction costs in both the United States and Canada,” the CHPE developer wrote in
an Aug. 28 filing to the state.
CHPE’s request comes the same week as a new analysis by the New York State Research and
Development Authority that supports the claims of the offshore wind developers. NYSERDA
projects that the so-called strike price, or the amount producers are guaranteed for their electricity,
will be between 27% and 66% higher than the developers had originally proposed.

The NYSERDA analysis lays bare the creeping costs of New York's transition to a clean-energy grid.
For its part, Transmission Developers is arguing that the CHPE “should be treated equally and
consistently with respect to any cost adjustments granted by the Commission.” The firm has
proposed a formula-based price adjustment to cover construction costs for all renewable energy
projects, which would treat developers equally.

The PSC is currently reviewing the wind developers’ petitions.

Costing out the energy

For the three offshore wind projects being developed jointly by Equinor and British Petroleum—
Empire Wind 1 and 2 near the Jersey Shore, and Beacon Wind east of Montauk—NYSERA estimates
that Empire 1 would see a 35% increase in its price of $118.38 per megawatt hour to $159.64,
leading to a 48-cent increase in residential customers' monthly bills. Empire 2 would see the price
per megawatt hour spike from $107.50 to $177.84, which would amount to a roughly $1.08
increase for residential consumers.

The Beacon Wind project, which will deliver energy to Queens, would see its price per megawatt
hour rise by 62% from $118 to $190.82 under NYSERDA’s estimates. The increase in the average
residential customer's monthly bill could be as much as $1.14, agency officials said.

Some elected officials have balked at the developers’ calls for more money. In a Sept. 1 letter to the
PSC, Long Island State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and Assemblyman Ari Brown, both
Republicans, called on state regulators to reject Equinor and BP’s petition for additional money,
citing affordability concerns for their constituents.

“It is imperative that the New York State Public Service Commission takes a resolute stance against
this preposterous increase, with unwavering focus on the welfare of our state's citizens, and the
non-negotiable affordability of electricity,” the lawmakers wrote.

If the PSC moves forward with cost adjustments for certain renewable energy projects but not
others, Transmission Developers argued in its petition, such a move would set an “ill-advised
precedent and the wrong incentives for future renewable projects” in New York.

The state’s pipeline of renewable energy projects is key to New York achieving its target of a clean-
energy electric grid by 2040, and CHPE is especially critical to also weaning the city’s electric grid
off of fossil fuels.

Energy carried downstate on 339 miles of transmission line will bring up to 1,250 megawatts of
electricity to the five boroughs—enough to power about 1 million homes and meet roughly 20% of
the city’s energy needs.

The New York Independent System Operator, which monitors the reliability of the state's power
systems, has frequently warned that if the CHPE project fails to stay on track the city could face
electricity shortages and could have to rely longer on dirty “peaker” power plants, which are used
during times of peak energy demand.

None of these challenges is especially unique to New York. Supply-chain troubles, long waits to
connect to the power grid and turbulent political landscapes across the U.S. are holding back the
pace of what otherwise would be a renewable energy building spree due to the increased demand
of state climate targets and the Biden administration’s clean-energy goals.

More solar panels, wind turbines likely for NYC as new green energy rules advance
Tea Kvetenadze
New York Daily News
September 11, 2023

A measure from the Adams administration intended to spur the growth of environmentally friendly
energy upgrades passed a key hurdle Monday.
The City Planning Commission voted to approve “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality,” a zoning text
amendment that would update zoning rules to make it easier to develop renewable energy and green
technologies such as rooftop solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations around the city.

Environmental groups and city agencies have touted the plan, though several commissioners
expressed lingering concerns during the vote.

“This initiative is the boldest, most thorough update of our zoning resolution related to the
environment in its history,” Daniel Garodnick, chairman of the commission and director of the
Department of City Planning, said during the meeting.

“Instead of being hindered by 1961 zoning rules that predate the creation of the Environmental
Protection Agency, this set of 17 zoning changes will clear the path for energy-efficient measures in
nearly every aspect of our city.”

The 17 zoning changes are intended to facilitate renewable energy development, help reduce the
city’s reliance on carbon-based fuels and help New Yorkers abide by local laws, including Local Law
97, which will set carbon emission caps for tens of thousands of larger buildings beginning next year.

Shutterstock
The City Planning Department first introduced the measure in April. The next step will be a public
hearing and final vote by the City Council this fall.

Among other things, the measures would allow for solar panels on most building roofs by removing
current zoning barriers that “severely” limit how much rooftop space can be covered by solar panels.
More than 8,500 acres of space above city parking lots could also be used for solar canopies.

The text amendment would also allow for green building retrofits in more than 50,000 buildings,
including landmarked ones, and more energy storage systems citywide. It would also make it easier
to develop wind turbines along the city’s waterfront, build rooftop greenhouses and create public
parking options for bikes.

Some commissioners expressed concerns Monday about the legislation. Gail Benjamin, who voted in
favor, raised questions about having composting facilities in residential districts given New York’s
“tremendous” rat problem and whether the city energy grid is “robust” enough to support an increase
in demand.

“I’m going to vote yes as a measure of hope, but my concerns are pretty deeply based, and I hope that
in the future we can look at those issues of how these 17 modifications may affect the desirability of
our residential communities and how we sustain them specifically,” she said.

Alfred Cerullo, a former Staten Island city councilman and the lone no vote, voted against it “on behalf
of Staten Island,” citing concerns about having battery energy storage systems in residential
neighborhoods.

Such batteries are regulated and need to be approved by the Department of Buildings and the FDNY
before they’re installed. “We have been working with FDNY and DOB to develop the proposal and will
continue conversations with the agencies around the safety of this technology,” City Planning said on
its website.

But a broad coalition of environmental groups have voiced their support for City of Yes for Carbon
Neutrality, including the New York League of Conservation Voters. Alia Soomro, the group’s deputy
director of New York City Policy, told the Daily News the measures will improve New York’s air
quality by helping the city move away from fossil fuels.

“It’s one tool in the toolbox,” she said, “but it’s really important that we update our city zoning
resolution and hopefully be a model for other cities.”

“Carbon Neutrality” is the first of three City of Yes amendments to go through city review. The other
two, dealing with economic development and housing, are expected to enter formal public review this
fall and early next year, respectively.

Facing inflation, major wind developer's stock price drops

Rick Karlin
Times Union
September 13, 2023

COEYMANS — After plunging 20 percent at the end of August, the stock of Orsted wind power
hasn’t recovered, raising further questions about the spiraling cost of offshore wind developments.
The drop came after the company was downgraded after Moody’s rating service lowered its outlook
for the firm. Additionally, Orsted Chief Executive Mads Nipper said during an investor conference
call that “the situation in U.S. offshore wind is severe.”

He was referring to the same inflationary pressures facing construction of offshore wind that
developers of onshore and solar power arrays are facing, which is forcing them to see
renegotiations on the price they will get for their green energy.

The stock drop is notable since it is yet another indication that developing green energy — largely
solar and wind — is coming at a higher-than-anticipated cost.

Orsted is set to build components at the Port of Coeymans in southern Albany County. The
components are part of a large offshore wind farm the company is constructing as a cornerstone of
plans to develop a carbon-free power grid in coming decades.
Orsted is majority-owned by the government of Denmark, where the company is based and is
traded on the Nasdaq Copenhagen stock exchange.

The stock dropped at the end of August to $20.55 per share, down from $27.32, and down from a
high of $34.19 earlier in the year.

As of Tuesday, it was listed at $18.28.

The company is developing the Sunrise Wind offshore wind power project off the coast of Long
Island.

It plans to build foundation components at the Port of Coeymans, with the pieces transported down
the Hudson River on barges.

It wasn’t clear if Nipper’s remarks would affect the work already agreed upon for Sunrise or
if Orsted would pull back from other bids or solicitations that the state has to develop more
offshore wind projects.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority still has an outstanding
solicitation, or request for bidders, for offshore wind energy.

In July, it essentially said that interested parties could put in for “update pricing,” which could raise
their costs.

Nipper’s remarks came shortly after New York’s onshore wind and solar developers, in filings with
the state Public Service Commission, said they would need to get higher wholesale price agreement
for their power if their projects were to move forward.

State commission gets mixed reception at hearing on fully public LIPA

A state legislative commission on the future of LIPA faced a crowd decidedly polarized on the prospect
of shifting to a fully public utility, with labor leaders expressing continuing concerns about the new
structure’s ability to guarantee their existing pay and benefits.

The first of four public hearings this month took place at the Suffolk Legislature in Smithtown Tuesday,
where more than 100 people gathered to express a mix of optimism and worry about the prospect of
LIPA operating the grid without the helping hand of PSEG Long Island.

The prospect of up to $75 million in annual savings from a more accountable public utility was
countered by what some feared would be the LIPA where patronage, high rates and poor service
became the norm. “We don’t trust government on Long Island,” said Luis Mendez of the business group,
Empowering Young Professionals.

LIPA, a state authority, was originally envisioned as a fully municipal utility but has never operated as
one, instead turning to a rarely used public-private model that relies on an outside corporation to
manage the grid under long-term contracts.
“We finally have an opportunity to go back and fix it,” former LIPA trustee Shelly Sackstein, chairman of
business group Action Long Island, told legislators on the commission. “It should have been a fully
municipal utility in the first place.”

Most vocal among the contingent of voices in opposition to a fully public LIPA was PSEG, an entity that
has the most to lose should LIPA shift models (its contract with LIPA expires at the end of 2025). The
New Jersey-based company has been lobbying for more than a year to convince lawmakers to keep the
system the way it is.

Sitting among a contingent of PSEG staffers at the hearing was Kristen Walsh, president of lobbying firm
Tonio Burgos & Associates, which last PSEG paid more than $82,000, Newsday has reported.

“Our future is at risk,” said PSEG senior director/vice president Christopher Hahn, himself a former Tonio
Burgos vice president, who suggested the anticipated monthly savings of $3 per customer from the shift
wasn’t worth the risk. “Mismanagement by an unaccountable, patronage-fueled [fully public LIPA]
bureaucracy will not meet [state climate goals] on time and will likely raise customer rates dramatically.”

But two commission reports and testimony by LIPA chief executive Tom Falcone indicated a fully public
utility without PSEG could be accomplished with quick and significant savings.

“You could replace the 19 people PSEG provides by hiring about six,” for the new utility, and save more
than $70 million a year, he said, noting those top PSEG officials cost ratepayers around $4.5 million each.

Asked how a new LIPA board would keep him and his team accountable, Falcone said, “The board can
fire me,” or adjust his pay.

Falcone told legislators there wasn’t a lot of time to waste, and that LIPA was already preparing to put
the contract out to bid for other contractors to operate the grid as a contingency in case the effort
doesn’t result in legislative action early next year.

“Time is of the essence, and we are at a fork in the road,” he said.

One major item on the commission’s to-do list is coming up with legislation that includes the list of
protections union members have been demanding since the effort began over a year ago.

“Full municipalization endangers the livelihood of our entire” membership, said Patrick Guidice, business
manager of Local 1049 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents some
2,000 PSEG workers. He urged disapproval of elected board members, something the commission has
already decided against in favor of an appointed board.

Assemb. Fred Thiele, (D-Sag Harbor), co-chairman of the committee, reiterated repeated assurances to
labor leaders that their concerns would be addressed.

“If we are not able to find a solution that protects labor this isn’t going to happen,” he said of the
committee’s effort.

Thiele noted that the municipalization effort was about more than a potential $2 to $3 monthly savings
for customers. Under the new structure, he said, “The public would be more involved in their utility, and
that would lead to better decisions” from a more transparent, accountable LIPA.
Tuesday’s Suffolk meeting will be followed by a second Thursday at the Nassau Legislature at 10 a.m.,
followed by two more next week, one in the Rockaways and another in Southampton. The commission
will complete its report by the end of November, and lawmakers are expected to use it to draft enabling
legislation early next year, possibly as part of the state budget.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office has yet to weigh in. “We will review the final report from the commission,”
Hochul spokesman Avi Small said.