New report shows New York leadership in decade of U.S. renewable energy progress

Media Contacts
Emma Searson

Simon Horowitz

Environment New York Research & Policy Center

NEW YORK — New York ranks no. 2 in the nation for cumulative electric vehicles sold and available electric vehicles charging stations, according to a new report released today by Environment New York Research & Policy Center. The project, Renewables on the Rise 2020, documents and compares the growth of five key clean energy technologies in each state over the past decade: solar power, wind power, battery storage, energy efficiency and electric vehicles. New York now has more than 53,000 plug in electric vehicles on the road, and over 1,750 publicly available electric vehicle charging stations. 

“New York’s work in electric vehicles is proof positive that we are in the midst of clean energy’s ascent as the power of the twenty-first century,” said Simon Horowitz, Global Warming Solutions Associate with Environment New York Research & Policy Center. “The gains we’ve seen, especially in the number of electric vehicles sold and availability of charging stations, should give New Yorkers the confidence we need to aim even higher and continue picking up the pace.” 

Beyond top-ranking electric vehicle sales and installed charging stations, New York is also no. 8 for growth in battery storage capacity since 2010 — going from no energy storage in 2010 to 33 megawatts in 2019 — and tenth in the nation in solar energy growth since 2010 — with solar generation increasing 42-fold. Innovative policies, combined with technological advances and declining costs, have played a key role in driving electric vehicles, solar energy and battery storage adoption, according to the report.

In addition to highlighting states that have made the most progress in adopting renewable energy technologies, the study also shows the rapid gains achieved overall nationally. In 2019, the U.S. produced 30 times more solar power and more than triple the amount of wind energy than it did in 2010. In addition to the growth in renewable energy, utility scale battery storage increased 20-fold since 2010, energy consumption per person declined thanks to improvements in energy efficiency and more than one million electric vehicles were sold in the U.S. 

“This project offers a timely reminder that clean energy technologies have risen to the occasion, and are already delivering for millions of Americans and New Yorkers,” Horowitz said. “We are so much closer to the clean, renewable energy future we need than we were ten years ago, and we should keep working to ensure that the next decade brings us even further.”

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Environment New York Research & Policy Center is dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces. We work to protect the places we love, advance the environmental values we share, and win real results for our environment. For more information, visit www.environmentnewyorkcenter.org.