Enough of the Stupid Energy Tricks: It's Time for Realistically Discussing the Energy Needs of Urban States

Attorney Dan Markind, a sincere friend of energy from the other side of the political aisle, has written a wonderful article in Forbes about the need for rational energy discussions. I encourage all readers to go there and read the whole thing. A few key excerpts to whet the appetite are offered below:

In 2019, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation denied a Section 401 Clean Streams Certification for the Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline (NESE). NESE would have connected the natural gas fields of Northeastern Pennsylvania with the New York City metropolitan area, by far the most populous region in the United States.

Shortly thereafter, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection followed suit, as the pipeline would have run through Raritan Bay from New Jersey to New York City.

Both then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy cited environmental concerns for their decisions. However, as a result, each of New York and New Jersey remains dependent on foreign sources for their energy needs, including at times even Russia (which actually sent gas to New England and the mid-Atlantic regions as recently as 2018)…

Unfortunately, aggressive plans to transition quickly and smoothly from fossil fuels to renewable energy have rarely proven to be successful in actual implementation, as countries as varied as Germany and Sri Lanka can attest. Now, with Donald Trump in the White House and talking about the “Green New Steal,” there likely will be little federal support for either of New Jersey’s or New York’s climate policies.

The 2024 election has shown that climate policy ranks very low on the priority list of most Americans. Will New York voters accept the proposed three offshore wind projects any more readily than New Jersey voters have accepted theirs? Will New York voters grant the zoning and land use permits to transmit any energy generated by renewable sources to the ultimate end users?

In 2013 the New York Court of Appeals – in the highest court in the State – granted municipalities broad power to deny, by land use regulations, State energy policy (see Wallach v. Town of Dryden, 23 N.Y.3d 728, 16 N.E.3d 1188 (2014). Now, New York renewable advocates may find this decision coming back to haunt them as local municipalities might refuse to grant the very permits needed to transmit renewable energy, regardless of any policies supporting the State’s goals.

Dan’s point about the home rule authority of New York State towns being wielded against solar and wind projects is an interesting point. The State has tried to eliminate this threat with rules taking authority for project approvals out of the hands of locals who don’t cooperate. Yet, those rules would seem to be vulnerable to the Court of Appeals rationalization of home rule in the case of natural gas a decade ago. Is anyone considering that sort of challenge? I honestly don’t know, but it makes perfect sense.

Regardless, Dan has laid out the crying need for meaningful and realistic discussions of energy needs and solutions. Will it happen? I think there’s a possibility. The recent election showed the public doesn’t appreciate stupid energy tricks dressed up in green rhetoric. There is a shift in civil society’s tectonic plates taking place at the moment, and realism is in high demand. Dan has laid it all out and succinctly identified the need.

#ClimateChange #NewYork #NewJersey #Michigan #EnergyNeeds #EnergyTransition #Realism