Central Hudson is pleased to pres­ent its new position paper, Pow­ering the Path to a Cleaner Future, exploring state energy goals and ini­tiatives to reduce carbon emissions; the current trends in electric gener­ation; utility programs to modernize the grid; and how and why to address transportation and building heating emissions, the highest emitting sectors in the state.

The New York State is poised to enact expansive legislation to address greenhouse gas emissions, which has gained support from both the state assembly and senate, to broaden and codify state energy goals.

“Central Hudson supports New York State’s initiatives toward adopt­ing cleaner, lower carbon sources of energy,” said Anthony Campagiorni, Vice President of Customer Services and Regulatory Affairs. He explained that the position paper outlines the many programs already underway by New York and Central Hudson. “However, if we are to attain state goals in reducing emissions, we must also address transportation and building heating.” He noted that the electric generating sector in New York has made great strides in reducing emissions, now contributing just 17 percent statewide, while the transportation and building heating sectors contribute 33 percent and 37 percent, respectively.

“We also strongly believe that maintaining energy affordability is critically important to the residents, businesses and communities we serve and must be part of the solution,” said Campagiorni. He said that costs for clean energy initiatives from 2016 through 2025 are projected to be more than $15 billion for electric custom­ers statewide and more than $658 million for Central Hudson’s customers, plus the cost of future initiatives such as battery storage and off-shore wind. “We’re advocating for achievable, low-cost solutions to meet our clean energy goals.”

Central Hudson is committed to making investments in infrastructure, technologies and programs that cost effectively reduce carbon emissions while continuing to provide reliable, resilient and affordable power by:

1. Upgrading electric transmission and distribution lines, including support for statewide transmission upgrades to deliver renewable energy sources to areas of high electric demands including the Hudson Valley, and investments in the regional electric distribution system to facilitate greater levels of locally sited renewable generators;
2. Pursuing the lowest cost approach to emission reduction, by examining current incentives to determine which offer the highest value in lowering emissions;
3. Integrating natural gas benefits, utilized for fast-start electric generation to enable intermittent renewable resources, and as a low-carbon option for heating and manufacturing;
4. Expanding energy efficiency programs, the most cost-effective method to reduce emissions; and
5. Advancing environmentally beneficial electrification, for example promoting electric vehicles and heat pumps to lower emissions from the transportation and building heating sectors.

“We hope this generates discussions about the ways in which New York State can effectively pursue a low-carbon future,” said Campagiorni. The position paper may be downloaded at www.CentralHudson.com/PoweringThePath.

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Central Hudson pres­ents its new position paper, Pow­ering the Path to a Cleaner Future, exploring state energy goals and ini­tiatives to reduce carbon emissions; the current trends in electric gener­ation; utility programs to modernize the grid; and how and why to address transportation and building heating emissions, the highest emitting sectors in the state. The position paper may be downloaded at www.CentralHudson.com/PoweringThePath.