Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) is Governor Cuomo’s plan to “rebuild, strengthen and modernize New York’s energy system. REV’s three core pillars of activities are comprised of over 40 initiatives, grouped in our State Energy Plan into seven interrelated categories described below as presented on the initiatives web page:
- Renewable Energy
- Buildings & Energy Efficiency
- Clean Energy Financing
- Sustainable and Resilient Communities
- Energy Infrastructure Modernization
- Innovation and R&D
- Transportation
In December 2017 I checked all the following links to make sure they were working. The NYS website has many that do not. As time and resources permit I will comment specifically on some of these programs.
- Renewable Energy
Our goal is to support a broad range of renewable options, from rooftop solar panels to grid-scale wind farms, all with an emphasis on integrating these diverse energy sources into the grid. New York is working to reduce soft costs and other market barriers to make these solutions more competitive in the energy market.
Sample initiatives to increase renewable energy deployment include:
- Buildings and Energy Efficiency
Buildings consume roughly 60% of all energy used in New York State. If we’re going to maximize the benefits of clean energy, we need to ensure that our power is being consumed more efficiently by end-users at scale. This applies to individuals, residences, businesses, and State-owned buildings alike. We also know that energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Sample initiatives to increase building and energy efficiency include:
- BuildSmart NY
- Combined Heat and Power
- Energy Efficiency Measures in Affordable Housing
- Increased emphasis on Net Zero Energy and Passive House buildings (note that the original link no longer works but this link explains the concept)
- Clean Energy Financing
Because ratepayers and taxpayers cannot and should not finance the State’s energy transition alone, the success of REV is dependent on the State’s ability to animate markets and attract private capital towards the envisioned clean energy solutions.
Sample initiatives to increase clean energy financing include:
- 10-year, $5.3 billion Clean Energy Fund
- NY Green Bank
- PACE, or Property-Assess Clean Energy Financing
Sustainable and Resilient Communities
New York State is made up of 4,270 local governments. Our goal is to empower each locality to adopt more sustainable and resilient energy systems by providing them with access to information, technical guidance, and financing to adopt clean energy solutions that meet their needs and help revitalize their communities.
Sample initiatives to build sustainable and resilient communities include:
- Clean Energy Communities
- Community Choice Aggregation
- Five Cities Energy Master Plans
- New York State Community Partnership
- NY Prize Community Microgrid Competition
- REV Campus Challenge
Energy Infrastructure Modernization
60% of New York’s power generation infrastructure is over 35 years old. As we develop distributed energy resources statewide, it is critical for the safety and resiliency of our current energy system that we maintain — and in some instances enhance — the central grid, which we can do directly through NYPA. It is only by doing so that we can continue to meet the energy needs of New Yorkers and integrate clean and distributed power at scale into our energy system.
Sample initiatives to modernize our energy infrastructure include:
- Energy Highway
- Low-Cost Power for Economic Development
- Smart Generation and Transmission (this is kind of a stretch but I could not find much else)
Innovation and R&D
For too long, cutting edge business models and technology solutions have been sitting on the sidelines of New York’s energy system. REV seeks to bring those solutions into the mainstream and onto the grid.
Initiatives to support innovation and R&D will not only help us build the grid of tomorrow, but also create jobs and attract investment in New York as a global clean energy and technology capital
Sample initiatives to foster innovation and R&D include:
- Clean Energy Fund Innovation and Research Portfolio (program description is in the middle of the document)
- Energy Storage R&D and Commercialization through NY-BEST and Brookhaven National Laboratory (REV description only referenced lab web page)
- REV Demonstration Projects
Transportation
Transportation accounts for 34% of the State’s greenhouse gas emissions and $26.7 billion in fuel costs annually. A cleaner, more efficient, and sustainable transportation system is critical to advancing New York’s energy goals. This will include alternative fuel vehicles (especially plug-in electric vehicles), more efficient public transportation, smarter transportation management infrastructure, consumer education, and close coordination with neighboring states to implement effective regional solutions.
Sample initiatives to improve New York’s transportation systems include:
Relevant REV Inconvenient Truth Posts
Reforming the Energy Vision’s programs are assigned to different agencies. The following posts are intended to provide the additional information about specific programs.