Hochul’s practical thinking on natural gas pipeline

Governor Hochul was right to approve a 24-mile pipeline bringing fuel to New York. The Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) Pipeline, once maligned by the governor as the state moved toward implementing the clean energy goals he set with great fanfare in 2019, had received support from businesses and workers, but more importantly, it will help the state ward off the real possibility of energy shortages and power outages.

Let’s be clear: Efforts to move away from fossil fuels and dirty energy production are worth it, and not just a liberal fantasy. The threat and consequences of climate change are very real, and it should be in the long-term interest of any state to prioritize clean and renewable energy involving not only technologies like wind and solar power, but also atomic energy, which, to his credit, Hochul is also pursuing.

But if we have to rely on some stopgaps like this pipeline, so be it, but Hochul is right that the state should focus on continuing to develop a wide range of energy solutions, with a particular emphasis on pursuing the long-term goals of clean energy independence, even as we continue to use alternatives. Another natural gas project, the Constitution pipeline, larger than the NESE, was abandoned.

It is up to our leaders to make decisions for the good of all, not only now but also in the future, and that means standing firm, even as public support for renewable energy may increase or decrease. This endorsement does not mean that the governor is or should be any less committed to continuing on this path, it is simply an acknowledgment that we are not getting there fast enough and that there are real risks of wishful thinking.

We are not in 2019, where the energy criteria were set with high hopes. Six years later, it is clear that we are not achieving the objectives and that we must therefore adapt. Pretending that nothing has changed since 2019, as some, like rebel Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado, do, is ridiculous.

Rolling blackouts are political dynamite, but we must also remember that they are dangerous, even deadly. In summer, as increasingly hot weather pushes people to push the limits of the electricity grid, a power outage can shut down the air conditioners that people, especially the elderly and other vulnerable groups, need, among other things, to stay healthy.

The idea that we will need additional online systems beyond what is already planned in order to meet energy demand is not wild speculation, but has been carefully laid out in the periodic reports of the New York Independent System Operatorwho found that the southern part of the state would experience significant energy deficiencies in the coming years in the absence of replacement projects that should not be completed in time to avoid impacts that could last for hours.

One day, our renewable energy will be able to not only meet the state’s energy needs, but also generate a surplus that could even generate additional revenue through the sale of stormwater runoff. In the meantime, we need to think pragmatically.

While approving the NESE pipeline makes perfect sense for providing energy to millions of people, what was the state’s point in keeping the Greenidge gas-fired cryptocurrency plant in the upstate for another five years? Making exceptions to the 2019 climate law for the public good and for economic reasons is one thing, but who benefits from this arrangement?