BILL NUMBER: S4066
SPONSOR: PARKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public buildings law, the education law, and the
public authorities law, in relation to requiring state operations to use
one hundred percent renewable electricity by two thousand thirty (Part
A); to amend the general municipal law and the education law, in
relation to exempting payment in lieu of taxes revenue from property tax
cap calculations (Part B); to amend the public service law, in relation
to requiring the office of renewable energy siting to develop a proce-
dure to process any financial security or letter of credit required by
the office (Part C); to amend the public authorities law, the tax law
and the economic development law, in relation to the recycling of solar
photovoltaic panels (Part D); to amend Part JJJ of chapter 58 of the
laws of 2020, amending the public service law and other laws relating to
accelerating the growth of renewable energy facilities to meet critical
state energy policy goals, in relation to directing the New York power
authority to propose a minimum of four priority transmission projects to
address the areas of highest need on the bulk transmission system (Part
E); to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
endangered and threatened species mitigation bank fund (Part F); to
amend the public service law, in relation to exempting renewable energy
systems from certain requirements related to energy facilities (Part G);
to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of materials for the timely
construction of major renewable energy facilities in furtherance of the
goals mandated by the New York state climate leadership and community
protection act (Part H); to amend the agriculture and markets law, in
relation to defining land used in agricultural production for the
purposes of an agricultural property tax exemption (Part I); to amend
the environmental conservation law and the public service law, in
relation to updating climate law goals for energy storage and renewable
generation (Part J); to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a
sales tax exemption for energy storage (Part K); to amend the tax law,
in relation to residential solar tax credits (Part L); and to amend the
energy law, in relation to enacting the "solar for all homes and busi-
nesses act of 2025" (Part M)
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to address and alleviate a multitude of
issues delaying renewables construction in New York.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Part A amends the public buildings, education, and the public authori-
ties laws, to require state operations to use one hundred percent renew-
able electricity by 2030. This part codifies Executive Order 22 and
commits state operations to use 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
Part B amends the general municipal and education laws to exempt renewa-
ble energy project PILOT revenue from Tax Cap calculations.
Part C amends the executive law to require the Office of Renewable Ener-
gy Siting to develop a procedure to process any financial security or
letter of credit required by the office or localities in their permit-
ting process.
Part D would amend the public authorities, tax and the economic develop-
ment laws to require the study of options and recommendations on the
reuse and recycling of solar photovoltaic panels.
Part E amends Part 111 of chapter 58 of the laws of 2020, amends the
public service law and other laws relating to accelerating the growth of
renewable energy facilities to meet critical state energy policy goals
by directing the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to propose priority
transmission projects to solve grid congestion in New York.
Part F amends the environmental conservation law to require the Depart-
ment of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to create the Endangered and
Threatened Species Mitigation Bank Fund to accept mitigation payments
from renewable energy developers.
Part G amends the public service law to exclude "alternative energy
production facilities" from regulation under sections 68, 69, and 70 of
the Public Service Law, alleviating unnecessary permitting delays.
Part H permits other entities other than state troopers to escort large
wind turbine materials classified as "superloads", expand the hauling
days, and shorten state agency processes.
Part I amends the agriculture and markets law by clarifying that if land
hosting a solar project otherwise meets the eligibility requirements for
an agricultural property tax exemption, then it still should be able to
receive that exemption.
Part J amends the environmental conservation and the public service laws
to increase the climate law goals to 10 GW of distributed solar and 6 GW
of energy storage by 2030, as well as 2030 targets of 8.5 GW of utility
scale solar and 5.5 GW of land -based wind.
Part K amends the tax law to include a state sales tax exemption for the
retail sale and installation of both residential and commercial energy
storage equipment, consistent with the exemption for solar energy
systems.
Part L amends the tax law to include a refundable state income tax cred-
it for solar energy equipment to low-to-moderate income residents and
those living in disadvantaged communities.
Part M amends the energy law to require that where feasible, all new
buildings should include solar panels on the roof, in addition to being
energy efficient.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The state of New York has nation-leading mandates for the development of
renewable electricity projects, with the requirement that New York be
powered by 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and 100% emissions-free
power by 2040. To help meet these mandates, we must address barriers to
New York reaching those goals on time. As of 2023, 17 grid-scale renewa-
ble projects are operational and 18 are under construction, out of over
120 renewable energy projects receiving contracts since 2017. Trans-
mission constraints, supply chain issues, interconnection delays, inef-
ficient permitting, and drawn-out tax negotiations are a number of the
barriers to getting renewable energy projects to construction and opera-
tion.
Part A:
It is important that the provisions of Executive Order 22, requiring all
state operations to use 100% renewable electricity by 2030, be codified
to ensure that future Governors do not reverse this directive. Part A
will create a market opportunity for the development of wind and solar
projects by codifying this requirement and clarifying that the Long
Island Power Authority (LIPA) and the New York Power Authority (NYPA)
are also required to use 100% clean power by 2030.
Part B:
The existing property tax cap policy in New York exempts Payment In Lieu
of Taxes (PILOT) property assessment increases but does not exempt PILOT
revenue from tax cap calculations. This limits the additional revenue a
municipality or school district could receive from new renewable project
construction. Wind or solar projects pay significant property taxes via
a PILOT payment to a town or school district, but municipalities are
hampered in their ability to realize additional revenue without a public
referendum. To encourage renewable electricity project construction, new
PILOT revenue from wind and solar projects should be exempt from tax cap
calculations. Note that municipalities would still have the option to
reduce property taxes for residents rather than realizing additional
revenue from new renewable projects if that was their preference.
Part C:
Currently, local municipalities handle the process of having the project
developer provide financial assurances to meet the decommissioning
requirements, whether those decommissioning requirements are imposed by
the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) (for projects over 25 mega-
watts) or the host municipality (for projects under 25 MW). This is a
burden on the municipality and leads to variety in the methods for
providing this financial surity. Part C directs ORES to establish a
uniform procedure for the holding and processing of the fiscal security
for renewable energy projects - both those permitted by ORES and those
permitted by municipalities under the State Environmental Quality Review
Act (SEQRA). To ease the administrative burden on those municipalities
so choosing, the financial securities would be held by ORES on their
behalf.
Part D:
Solar panels have a lifespan of between 25 to 40 years, giving NYS time
to properly consider and implement a solar panel reuse and recycling
plan. This bill directs NYSERDA, in consultation with the Departments of
Environmental Conservation, Economic Development, and Transportation, to
study and recommend a panel recycling program. In addition, it creates a
tax credit for solar panel recyclers to locate in the state, creating
jobs and providing nearby recycling options. As the state develops
statewide solar panel end-of-life requirements, municipal laws estab-
lishing recycling mandates, which may not be consistent with a statewide
approach, should be preempted as they are creating substantial delays
for the installation of solar.
Part E:
The lack of sufficient transmission capacity in New York limits the
capacity for the interconnection of renewable energy projects and/or
results in curtailment of renewable power. This is a massive barrier to
the decarbonization of the state's grid. To remedy this, Part E directs
NYPA to, within 6 months, propose priority transmission projects, as
defined by the 2020 Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community
Benefit Act, to solve transmission problems in the most congested zones
identified in the NYISO's 20 Year System Outlook. These proposals would
be reviewed and approved or rejected by the Public Service Commission.
Part F:
The DEC has yet to create the Endangered and Threatened Species Miti-
gation Bank Fund, as directed by the Accelerating Renewable Energy
Growth and Community Benefit Act, which directed DEC to take this step
to allow renewable energy developers to meet their obligations to miti-
gate any identified impacts to endangered species by contributed to said
Fund. Because DEC has failed to act to create this Fund, it has
furthered project delays. Part F allows DEC to use an existing fund for
this same purpose, i.e., receive mitigation payments from renewable
developers, instead of the tedious and lengthy process for the developer
and DEC to negotiate a mitigation project unconnected to a comprehensive
species plan.
Part G:
"Alternative energy production facilities" should be excluded from regu-
lation under sections 68, 69 and 70 of the Public Service Law. These
sections were enacted when utilities owned power generation plants, and
are not relevant to privately owned wind and solar projects. For exam-
ple, Part 68 requires the submission of a corporation's financial data
to protect ratepayers from cost overruns, these protections are not
applicable to renewable energy projects that are not funded by utili-
ties. Part 69 requires approval by the Public Service Commission before
any stocks or bonds can be issued by an electric or gas corporation.
Again, as privately constructed and owned renewable energy projects are
not paid for by utilities, and these ratepayer protections to not need
to be applied to renewable energy projects. And Part 70 requires the
Public Service Commission to approve any transfer or lease of any gas or
electric corporation system or works, which is also no longer relevant
as these are privately owned renewable projects. These requirements slow
down renewable development with no benefit to ratepayers or the general
public, so these unnecessary steps should be eliminated.
Part H:
Currently, the only entities allowed to escort "superloads" of wind
turbine parts are state troopers. With the amount of turbines predicted
to be built in the coming years, there may not be enough troopers to
escort materials in a timely manner. Part H would expand the entities
allowed to escort these superloads, allow more permissible hauling days,
and shorten state agency processes for issuing superload permits.
Part I:
The requirement for a farmer to receive an agricultural property tax
exemption is to have 7 or more acres of land, and for the gross sales of
agricultural products to average $10,000 for the preceding two years. If
land that is hosting solar facilities still meets all of these agricul-
tural property tax exemption requirements, the land should still receive
the tax exemption. This will encourage farmers to maintain farm oper-
ations even after deciding to host solar energy and will encourage them
to co-locate agricultural activities and solar, referred to as agrivol-
talcs.
Part J:
The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) included
several numerical goals for the deployment of offshore wind, distributed
solar, and battery storage. Now that the Climate Scoping Plan has been
completed, these goals should be updated. The Governor has announced
goals of 10 GW of distributed solar and .6 GW of energy storage by 2030,
and the CLCPA should be updated accordingly. For the Climate Scoping
Plan, which was finished in December 2022, modeling was done to identify
the best pathways to meet the goals laid out in the CLCPA. This modeling
showed that the required amount of utility scale solar ranged from 8,192
to 8,867 MW in 2030 under several scenarios, and the required amount of
land-based wind ranged from 4,861 MW (in the Reference Case) to 5,519 MW
(in Scenarios 1-4). Based on these estimates, targets should be set for
8,500 MW of utility-scale solar and 5,500 MW of land-based wind by 2030.
This specificity will build market confidence and help ensure that New
York achieves 70% renewable electricity by 2030.
Part K:
Part K provides an exemption from state sales tax for energy storage
equipment, like batteries. New York has a goal of installing 10 giga-
watts (GW) of battery storage by 2030 to help transition the grid, build
resiliency, and prepare for the deployment or more wind and solar
projects. Currently, commercial and residential solar energy systems are
granted a state sales tax exemption. The retail sale and installation of
commercial and residential energy storage equipment should also be
granted this same state sales tax exemption.
Part L:
Homeowners across New York see the high upfront cost of solar panel
installation as an obstacle to adoption, even though residential solar
will provide net savings in energy costs over the long term. To make
this more affordable and encourage increased adoption, Part L expands
the residential solar tax credit limit, with a refundable state sales
tax credit of 25% of solar energy system equipment expenditures (up to
S10,000). If the tax liability of the taxpayer is less than the credit
they would receive, and they meet the definition of low-to-moderate
income or reside in a Disadvantaged Community, this credit can be spread
over up to the five following taxable years.
Part M:
Part M would require all new buildings to be built to accommodate the
installation of a solar energy system on their roofs. Certain categories
of these new buildings would be required to have a solar energy system,
and building permits will not be granted without showing of this compli-
ance. Panel prices have been decreasing over the past decade and have
become more effective in generating electricity. With these recent panel
improvements, cost decreases, and the CLCPA requirements to reduce
carbon emissions, homeowners should be able to generate their own
on-site energy. Installing solar panels on new construction rather than
existing buildings is significantly cheaper, therefore all new buildings
should include solar panels on the roof, where feasible.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S7442 -REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To Be Determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the
applicable effective date of Parts A through M of this act shall be as
specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.

Statutes affected:
S4066: 355 education law, 355(2) education law, 1005 public authorities law, 1020-f public authorities law, 138 public service law, 138(3) public service law, 210-B tax law, 11-0535-c environmental conservation law, 11-0535-c(1) environmental conservation law, 68 public service law, 68(1) public service law, 69 public service law, 70 public service law, 75-0103 environmental conservation law, 75-0103(13) environmental conservation law, 66-p public service law, 66-p(5) public service law, 1115 tax law, 1210 tax law, 11-102 energy law, 11-103 energy law, 11-103(three) energy law, 11-104 energy law, 11-104(5) energy law, 11-105 energy law, 11-109 energy law, 11-109(2) energy law