New York’s Wind Permitting Scandal
2 days ago Guest Blogger
Roger Caiazza
I am convinced that implementation of the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (Climate Act) net-zero mandates will do more harm than good if the future electric system relies only on wind, solar, and energy storage because of reliability challenges, affordability risks, and unacceptable environmental impacts. While I have written numerous articles here about my reliability and affordability concerns, this is my second post describing New York’s horrible wind and solar permitting process.
New York Renewable Generation Permitting
New York’s renewable siting framework has shifted through three major regimes in just over a decade, each one stripping away more local control and speeding approvals for utility‑scale wind, solar, and transmission lines. Under Article 10 of the Public Service Law (2011–2020), large electric generating facilities were reviewed case‑by‑case by a Siting Board in what was nominally a quasi‑judicial process, with intervenor funding, evidentiary hearings, and some room for host communities and expert witnesses to test developer claims on issues like noise, visual impacts, and wildlife mortality. In 2020, the Legislature and Cuomo Administration declared that Article 10 was too slow for Climate Act timelines and replaced it for most renewables with the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) under Executive Law 94‑c, creating a streamlined, highly prescriptive permit system that pre‑empted most local laws, compressed schedules, and shifted the burden to communities to show why a project should not be approved. Most recently, the Hochul Administration and Legislature doubled down with the 2024 RAPID Act, folding siting of generation and major transmission into an even more centralized “one‑stop” process explicitly designed to accelerate Climate Act build‑out, further marginalizing traditional environmental review norms and local land‑use authority in favor of hitting megawatt and mile targets on paper.
Invenergy’s Alle-Catt Wind Energy Center is a 340-megawatt wind power generation facility in Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Wyoming Counties, New York. It is a scandalous example of the environmental impacts I am concerned about. In the rush to permit the project New York agencies have created a monster. It creates significant adverse environmental impacts and delivers meager climate benefits. The agencies allowed the developer to construct most of the 83 4 MW wind turbines. However, it cannot be legally commissioned or operated until it proves compliance with a 40 dBA nighttime noise limit at all non‑participating homes. The rest of the article summarizes the issues. Readers interested in the details should check out my post on my blog.
How the permit got broken
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/07/24/new-yorks-wind-permitting-scandal/
