Cuomo pursues mandate to get half of New York’s power from renewables

New York Gov. Cuomo plans to order state regulators to mandate that half of all power be generated from renewable sources by 2030. Cuomo had already declared a goal of having 50% of the state’s power from renewable sources in 15 years, but with no means for the state to enforce that directive. The governor intends to have the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, codify the requirement. The New York Times reported that state officials said it was hoped the action would delay the planned shutdown of two nuclear power plants on Lake Ontario. In early November the nuclear operator Entergy said it would close its plant in Scriba, N.Y. in late 2016 or early 2017 because it was  projecting losses of about $60 million a year. Nuclear plants emit less air pollution than power plants fueled by natural gas or coal, so losing the nuclear plants would hamper the chances of the state meeting its ‘clean energy’ targets.