Clean Path NY is an innovative investment in clean energy infrastructure that will deliver reliable clean power to New York communities that currently rely on fossil fuel power generation. It is comprised of more than 20 renewable energy generation projects and an approximate 175-mile, underground transmission line–all located within New York State. This project will generate 3,800 megawatts of new wind and solar power and deliver almost 8 million megawatt-hours of emissions-free energy. Clean Path NY will help ensure New York State meets its nation-leading climate goalsand create an estimated 8,300 jobs.

Clean Path NY will help New York meet the mandate of the state’s landmark climate legislation, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which requires New York’s energy supply to be 100% carbon-free by 2040.

Clean Path NY solves a problem that has prevented New York from achieving its renewable energy goals for decades: modernizing New York’s congested, fragmented energy grid that blocks renewable energy from reaching communities most reliant on fossil fuel energy sources. Clean Path NY will update and unify the grid—allowing clean energy to go where it is most needed and shoring up the grid’s reliability so that the state can transition resiliently away from fossil fuels. Clean Path NY also will significantly advance New York State toward its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal to be 100% carbon-free by 2040.

In addition, Clean Path NY is engineered to bring more reliability to the grid by making it less vulnerable to disruptions and service outages that are becoming routine due to extreme weather events.

Clean Path NY is a project selected in a competitive bidding process, run by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The RFP (Request for Proposals) sought projects that would responsibly deliver a significant increase of renewable energy to New York City, an area of the state that is heavily dependent on fossil fuel-fired generation, is at higher risk of air quality issues and health impacts from fossil fuel emissions, and has a marked need for grid reliability and resiliency. The New York State Public Service Commission approved Clean Path NY’s contract in April 2022.

The Clean Path NY transmission line will go through robust public review through the Public Service Commission’s Certificate of Public Need and Environmental Compatibility, or Article VII, permitting process, which includes a full review of the need for the project and any environmental impacts of the siting, design, construction, and operation.

Clean Path NY is a public-private collaboration between the New York Power Authority (NYPA), energyRe and Invenergy. Each entity brings unique skills, assets and experience to this project to ensure its success. The project’s developers are trusted leaders in New York’s energy industry with distinguished histories of achievement. The Clean Path NY team will leverage its best-in-class capabilities to ensure that New York State will continue its history of leading the way in climate action.

New York will see significantly improved air quality and public health benefits because the State’s energy grid will be less reliant on fossil-fuel power plants. Clean Path NY will cut emissions from New York’s electric grid by an estimated 22% each year, dramatically reduce criteria air pollutants, and remove 49 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere through 2040. These emissions reductions are projected to yield billions of dollars in social and public health benefits.

The project will create an estimated 8,300 new jobs in New York, result in substantial net savings for New York State ratepayers, and make significant investments in long-term workforce development, job training, public health and education.

Clean Path NY will generate 3,800 megawatts of new clean energy, including 1,800 megawatts of new solar power and 2,000 megawatts of new on-shore wind power. All the new renewable energy will be generated in New York, keeping jobs and investment in the state.

The project team is committed to working with local communities and other stakeholders at every stage of development to ensure that local voices are sought and heard, for the wellbeing of communities and surrounding environment. The transmission line will be sited entirely underground and underwater which will minimize community impact, ensure that the line is resilient against extreme weather, and limit disruptions in service. The transmission line will be built mainly on existing rights-of-ways already used by transmission lines and roads.

Route planning and environmental analysis is underway on the Clean Path NY transmission route. The robust and comprehensive state planning process ensures that the transmission line will follow the most optimal route, taking into account potential community impact and environmental stewardship.

Pending all required public permits and approvals, the Clean Path NY transmission line is expected to begin construction in 2024 and to begin operation in 2027.

Clean Path NY’s 1,300 MW transmission line will run approximately 178 miles underground and underwater to minimize community impact, ensure resiliency against extreme weather, and limit service disruptions. The underground portion of the transmission line begins in Delaware County and follows existing right-of-ways owned or controlled by NYPA and New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) for approximately 116 miles, before entering the Hudson River at Newburgh in Orange County. The line travels down the river for 20 miles and makes landfall again at Peekskill in Westchester, so that the route can avoid the ecologically sensitive areas in the river around Haverstraw Bay and Croton Bay. The project primarily follows NYS DOT rights-of-way for approximately 10 miles to Croton, where it enters the Hudson River again and continues south for approximately 27 miles to the Harlem River and East Rivers. The total submarine routing is approximately 47 miles. The link exits the East River at Randall’s Island and travels east to Queens. It then travels underneath streets controlled by the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) for approximately 3 miles before terminating at the Rainey Substation. There will be a converter station at the northern and southern ends of the transmission link. The northern converter station is in Delhi, adjacent to NYPA’s Marcy South transmission lines, one mile east of the Fraser Substation. The southern converter station is adjacent to NYPA facilities in the Astoria Energy Center in Queens. Each site will be approximately 4 acres.

Clean Path NY includes more than 20 wind and solar energy generation projects across upstate New York. The geographic and technological diversity of Clean Path NY’s wind and solar generation helps maximize the resiliency and reliability of the energy supply. Each wind and solar project will be independently permitted to facilitate public review and engagement, and will follow its own public information schedule to be announced at a later date.

By delivering nearly 8 million megawatt hours of clean energy over a new 1,300 megawatt transmission line, Clean Path NY is estimated to eliminate 49 million tons of CO2 emissions statewide by 2040, reduce fossil fuel-fired electric generation by 22% annually across New York State.

We welcome everyone to visit cleanpathny.com and follow the project’s progress on social media @cleanpathny.

Clean Path NY's case number with the New York Public Service Commission is 22-T-0558.

• Subscribe to the Public Service Commission service list: documents.dps.ny.gov with case number 22-T-0558
• Send a written comment: to secretary@dps.ny.gov or Secretary at the New York State Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350
• Call: 1-800-335-2120
• Any New Yorker along the project may become a formal party to the Article VII public review process by contributing testimony, comments, and other material. Where appropriate, Clean Path NY will provide an intervenor fund to offset costs of consultants, administrative fees and other expenses for this purpose. For information regarding the preparation of an intervenor fund application, visit www.dps.ny.gov/articlevii.htm