If you were feeling the heat this summer, you were not alone. August 2026 was tied with July 2023 as the hottest month ever recorded on Earth. As we continue to feel the worsening impacts of extreme weather, one thing that is a source of constant motivation is all the colleagues and partners working to advance a clean energy future.
At NYSERDA, we work year-round to catalyze New York’s statewide energy transition, but for one week in September each year – at Climate Week NYC – the world turns its eyes to New York City to identify the highest priority solutions to fight climate change and build a cleaner, more reliable, and affordable energy system. Throughout the week, my NYSERDA colleagues and I had the opportunity to speak before thousands of interested parties and meet with the stakeholders, businesses, and organizations who are collectively advancing this transition.
Something that strikes me the most about the week is the sheer volume of events and the diversity of collaborators involved. From a sustainable rooftop farm in Queens to packed conference halls with attendees from all parts of the clean energy ecosystem and world, Climate Week offered an opportunity for everyone to share, discuss, and learn from each other. We left invigorated and optimistic with new ideas and updates on the incredible progress being made across so many different sectors.
For our part, Governor Hochul and NYSERDA brought a few announcements of our own to a jam-packed week of events. First and foremost, Governor Hochul announced her Clean, Highly Affordable, Reliable, Grid Expansion, or CHARGE agenda – an aggressive framework of clean energy and affordability measures designed to keep the lights on and costs down for New Yorkers while achieving a reliable, zero-emission grid.
Notably, she also announced the Energy Infrastructure Development Plan – which will update New York’s State Energy Plan process with an actionable blueprint designed to align resources with energy demand and economic growth. As chair of the New York State Energy Planning Board, I look forward to reconvening this year to begin the comprehensive and integrated planning needed to address New York’s near and long-term needs through this expanded work.
The Governor also matched last year’s record-breaking climate action investment by adding a second $1 billion installment to the landmark Sustainable Future Program. Governor Hochul also announced that $1 billion in state energy rebate checks designed to help over 8 million New Yorkers who are struggling with higher utility costs and prices at the pumps began going out last week and will continue through December. This is in addition to the State’s aggressive enrollment drive to ensure all who are eligible for the Energy Assistance Program have applied and receive direct utility bill savings. Eligibility was expanded in 2026 and 2.5 million households are eligible.
And as for NYSERDA, we announced that contracts have been executed for 1.7 gigawatts of new large-scale energy resources, including eight bulk energy storage projects and 13 land-based renewable energy projects. Combined, these projects are expected to create more than 1,100 family-supporting jobs and will commit over $3.7 billion in private investment. Through these new projects, we are reinforcing the State’s commitment to the development of locally-produced clean energy, energy storage, grid resiliency and economic development, which are well equipped to leverage federal clean energy tax credits and reduce costs for New Yorkers.
We also travelled to communities like Amsterdam, NY, where we marked the official ribbon cutting of ECOFlats, a Buildings of Excellence Award winning project and announced nearly $135 million to advance design and construction of energy efficient housing. As part of this investment, $100 million is now available to support residential new construction at every stage of development through the State’s New Efficient Homes New York program. New construction projects such as these are an opportunity to integrate the latest high-performance technologies and building solutions into homes and demonstrate how to use energy more efficiently, improve comfort and protect against extreme weather.
Climate Week NYC is about turning commitments into implementation. By enabling further growth of our in-state renewables sector, and advancing utility-scale energy storage, we are ensuring an affordable and reliable clean energy transition for all New Yorkers. I commend Governor Hochul for being a champion in accelerating these projects over the past five years, which helped make us a leader in the creation of clean energy jobs and is spurring economic development opportunities for businesses and local communities across our state.
As Governor Hochul said at the Ceres climate event last week: “Ambition matters but execution is everything.”
Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA