In 2004, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) implemented the state’s renewable portfolio standard requiring that 25 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2013. In 2010 the PSC expanded the mandate to 30 percent by 2015. Twenty one percent of the overall mandate must be met with existing renewable sources and one percent from green power sales. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will procure the rest of the mandate from new renewable sources.
Qualifying sources are classified into a Main Tier and a Customer-sited Tier. Main Tier sources include biogas, biomass, liquid biofuel, fuel cells, hydroelectric, solar, ocean or tidal power, and wind. The Customer-sited Tier includes fuel cells, solar, and wind.
To procure the new renewable resources NYSERDA collects an RPS surcharge from state utilities, the costs of which are passed on to ratepayers. The customer impact from the surcharge was expected to be minimal. However, NYSERDA’s surcharge-funded budget for the Customer-sited Tier has exploded from $45 million in 2009 to $128.6 million to continue the program through 2010. Another $279 million was budgeted to meet the RPS expansion.
The law also mandates renewable generators set aside five percent of their output to meet the one percent mandate for green power sales.
The PSC is currently considering transitioning to a renewable energy credit (REC) trading system.
Source: Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency