Entries by Lorenzo Mohammed

Building New York’s Clean Energy Workforce

Building New York’s Clean Energy Workforce

On Monday, August 10, at 12:00 PM we discussed “Building New York’s Clean Energy Workforce: SUNY Morrisville & Ithaca Energy Warriors”. Our special guests were Dr. Ben Ballard, Professor of Renewable Energy at SUNY Morrisville, and Dr. Aloja Airewele, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Energy Warriors Program Leader.

SUNY Morrisville has one of New York’s longest-running hands-on renewable energy education programs. Dr. Ballard’s presentation will highlight the degree programs, workforce training initiatives, and industry partnerships that prepare students for careers in solar, wind, clean heating and cooling, electrical systems, and energy project development.

The Energy Warriors Green Career Pathways program, directed by Dr. Airewele, provides training for people experiencing barriers to employment within the growing green jobs sector—including heat pump and solar installers, insulation technicians, and reuse specialists. This collaborative training program, grounded in the nationally recognized Roots of Success curriculum, brings together private employers, unions, public workforce development agencies, and educational organizations to provide paid training and a nurturing environment for their trainees.

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Gas Planning Let’s Get it Right!

In 2020 the Public Service Commission launched a Gas Planning Proceeding. The goals: to calibrate gas supply to avoid disruptions to service and direct the gas utilities to plan to meet the emissions reductions required by the CLCPA. Good planning is essential to ensure a smooth energy transition, strategically right-size the gas system, ensure that the right investments are made at the appropriate times, and to save ratepayers money. But so far, the gas planning has not yielded the necessary outcomes. Now in 2026, there’s an opportunity to reimagine gas planning and optimize our investments.

Featuring speakers:
Meagan Burton, Earthjustice
Kristina Persaud, Advanced Energy United
Josh Berman, Sierra Club

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Heat Pump Rate Design

To achieve widespread adoption of heat pumps, it’s imperative to ensure that households switching from gas to heat pumps don’t see their bills go up. Fortunately there’s a solution! Currently, utilities are overcharging heat pump customers for the poles and wires that deliver electricity. Dedicated heat pump rates, like those already offered by Con Edison, can solve this.

Our esteemed speakers include Juan-Pablo Velez, Executive Director of Switchbox, Magdalen Sullivan, Attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, and Jessica Azulay, Executive Director at AGREE.

The webinar covers a new report commissioned by AGREE and Earthjustice on heat pump rates. The report can be accessed at this link: https://www.switch.box/nyhprates

Study Two-Pager: https://renewableheatnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/switchbox_nyhprates_onepager.pdf

The teach-in includes an overview of the NY heat pump design working group’s plan to call on the NY Public Service Commission to take action on electric rate design in the “Grid of the Future” docket to ensure that electric heating customers are not overpaying for electricity and to help drive heat pump adoption across the state.

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Powering New York’s Solar Future: The Push for 20 GW by 2035 | NYSEIA

On Monday, April 13, from 12:00 to 1:00 P.M., NYCP’s Renewable Energy Speakers Series hosted Jonathan Cohen, the Policy Director for the New York Solar Energy Industries Association (NYSEIA). Jonathan explained solar legislation currently under consideration in Albany, including the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) ACT (Senate S6570A). New York surpassed its 6 GW goal more than a year ahead of schedule, in October 2024! The state is now well on track to meet the Governor’s expanded goal of 10 GW by 2030, with over 3.4 GW under development. With this rapid installation of distributed solar, it is time to increase the goal to 20 GW by 2035. Listen to the recording to understand why New York should pass the bill this session and how we can do it.

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Energy Storage & Plug-In Solar: What’s Next for New York | NY-BEST & Bright Saver

This recording is from NYCP’s renewable energy speaker series, Monday, March 9, from 12 to 1 P.M., with our special guests Claudia Villar-Leeman from NY-BEST and Cora Stryker from Bright Saver.

Claudia is the Senior Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST). She explained how our electricity grid works, why energy storage is critical to supporting reliability while keeping electricity bills down, and recent initiatives to support storage in the state, including a recent bill that would have large BESS projects reviewed by the Department of Public Service: S.5506 (Kavanagh)/A.8378 (Levenberg).

Cora Stryker is the cofounder of Bright Saver, the first and only nonprofit dedicated to making plug-in solar accessible to all Americans. Cora explained plug-in (“balcony”) solar, told us about the Solar Up Now New York (SUNNY Act). We also learned how to encourage our legislators to support policies that build a cleaner Empire State.

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Federal Challenges and the Future of Offshore Wind Projects

On Monday, February 9, from 12 to 1 P.M., NYCP’s Renewable Energy Speaker Series provided an insider’s view of offshore wind in New York State. Our special guest was Alicia Gené Artessa, Esq., Director of the New York Offshore Wind Alliance (NYOWA). Alicia explained why the benefits of offshore wind are critically important to all New Yorkers, including energy security, clean air, economic savings, job growth, revitalized port infrastructure, and protection of marine habitats. Our guest’s legal expertise, policy experience, and advocacy leadership allowed her to provide insight into the recent federal legal challenges to Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind, and to explain what we can do to support the advancement of offshore wind.

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How Poughkeepsie got to “Yes” on grid-scale batteries | Vassar College Prof. Jeff Seidman

On Monday, January 12, from 12 to 1 P.M., NYCP hosted a practical guide to advocating for energy storage projects at town meetings. Our special guest was Vassar College professor Jeff Seidman, who drew on his successful effort to overturn Poughkeepsie’s energy storage moratorium. Dr. Seidman explained why the Hudson Valley is strategically crucial for energy storage, and why the area has become a flashpoint for energy debates, even within communities that are generally supportive of renewable energy. Most importantly, he presented compelling, persuasive arguments that we can use in almost any situation to support energy storage in our communities.

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Get Charged up with the NY State Energy Plan

In September, 2024, New York State kicked off the process to develop the State Energy Plan, which is supposed to be a comprehensive roadmap for a clean, resilient, and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers. The Energy Plan was last updated in 2020, when it was amended to incorporate the objectives of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act). Since the 2020 update, the Climate Action Council produced its Scoping Plan, examining many of the energy issues that contribute to climate change and offering a number of recommendations for the State to implement. The State Energy Planning Board will now convene to begin the process of producing a draft, then a final plan, for this planning cycle. Currently planned to be considered by the Board in December 2025, the final plan will provide a 15-year outlook and focus on strategies to meet future energy needs and advance economy-wide decarbonization. The Hochul Administration has also expressed a desire to balance decarbonization with reliability, affordability, environmental and public health impacts and economic growth.

The climate emergency is here; how will New York’s Energy Plan meet this moment? New York State is required to update the State Energy Plan every 5 years and 2025 is the year a new plan will be put in place. What is the importance of the Energy Plan? Will the Energy Plan be compliant with the Climate Law? How can advocates participate to ensure the Energy Plan will result in a swift and equitable transition to clean energy?

Speakers included:

Janet Joseph, Principal, JLJ Sustainability Solutions (Former VP of Strategy and Market Development, NYSERDA)

Dr. Robert Howarth, Member, New York’s Climate Action Council and the David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology at Cornell University

Christopher Casey, Utility Regulatory Director, New York, Climate and Energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

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NYS Energy Plan – What’s in it, What’s Not, How You Can Help Shape It!

New Yorkers for Clean Power and esteemed speakers to learn more about the draft State Energy Plan, what’s in it, what’s missing, and how to take action before the October 6th deadline. Our panelists will address key highlights and recommendations for the building, power and transportation sectors respectively.

Our speakers:
Josh Berman, Senior Attorney of Sierra Club Environmental Law Program
Marguerite Wells, Executive Director of Alliance for Clean Energy New York
Jaqi Cohen, Director of Climate and Equity Policy Tri-State Transportation Campaign

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