The New York State Public Service Commission announced that the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES) has released revised regulations for environmental review, permitting, and siting of major renewable energy and electric transmission facilities under the Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Deployment (RAPID) Act. The updated rules reflect feedback from a variety of stakeholders, including consumers, developers, environmental groups, municipalities, and other state agencies. The public will have 45 days to comment on the proposed changes before they are finalized; comments are due by December 8, 2025.
ORES first introduced draft RAPID Act regulations in December 2024. The initial public comment process included 20 in-person hearings at 11 locations across New York as well as two virtual hearings. In response to requests from local governments and others for more time to review the proposals, ORES extended the comment period. Many revisions in the new draft were influenced by this input as well as lessons learned from current permitting processes.
Commission Chair Rory M. Christian stated: “The revised RAPID Act regulations will enable ORES to refine its permitting practices and enable the development of new renewable generation and transmission projects that create new clean energy, strengthen grid reliability, and support new good-paying jobs. These regulations will be essential to the state’s need to integrate new, clean generation and replace our existing aging infrastructure to meet rising electric demand.”
ORES Executive Director Zeryai Hagos added: “We asked, and stakeholders delivered. The robust written and verbal feedback that we received challenged ORES to sharpen our approach. The enhanced permitting process isn’t just about speeding things up, it’s about getting projects right from the start. Through meaningful public engagement, strong environmental and community protections, all balanced through an efficient and transparent process, we will ensure the energy infrastructure we build in New York truly serves the public interest.”
Following more than 2,000 public comments on both proposed regulations and a draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement, ORES made substantial revisions in several areas such as pre-application procedures; alternative route scoping for major electric transmission facilities; upgrades within existing rights-of-way; increased stakeholder engagement including with local governments; replacing “environmental justice” with “disadvantaged communities” per CLCPA requirements; and noise standards for both renewable energy projects and transmission facilities. According to ORES officials, these changes could reduce permit issuance times by up to half.
The RAPID Act was enacted in April 2024 to consolidate oversight of environmental review and siting of large-scale renewable energy projects under ORES authority—streamlining a process previously managed under multiple statutes like Article 10 for solar or wind projects over 25 megawatts.
Since its creation in 2021, ORES has permitted 27 out of a total of 31 large-scale solar or wind projects approved statewide—representing a combined capacity of about 4.2 gigawatts—with four additional approvals coming from prior procedures under Article 10.
Those wishing to submit comments electronically can do so via www.dps.ny.gov by searching case number “24-M-0433” or mail their input directly to Hon. Michelle L. Phillips at New York State Public Service Commission headquarters in Albany.
