91��Ƶ

Research. Advocacy. Impact.

The 91��Ƶ Energy and Climate Center (PECC) has led clean energy and climate policy initiatives for over 35 years. As a hub for legal, economic, and regulatory research, PECC delivers practical solutions to drive equitable decarbonization and provides services and scholarship in the following areas:

Renewable Energy Deployment

PECC has played an integral role in developing scholarship, and policy solutions, that have advanced renewable energy deployment throughout the United States. A PECC currently leads the Emerging Energy Economies of Downstate New York (“EEED”) project. EEED is a two-year initiative designed to support communities across New York City, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley in advancing community-scale energy solutions that increase affordability and support local economies. Through EEED, PECC, in collaboration with the Land Use Law Center, aims to: (i) strengthen coordination among organizations actively supporting communities; (ii) identify shared, region-specific implementation barriers and solutions - EEED Barriers & Solutions Memorandum; (iii) Connect energy planning with local economic development, affordability, resilience, and infrastructure needs; (iv) provide technical assistance to help move communities toward feasible project pathways; and (v) translate local needs and implementation experience into policy, programmatic, and resource recommendations.

Thermal Energy Networks

PECC's leadership on thermal energy networks (“TENs”) in downstate New York includes the forthcoming Municipal Reference Manual on Thermal Energy Networks, developed through a , and the report developed in partnership with the City of Mount Vernon and New York Community Trust. PECC also launched the Erie County ECLIPSE program, which addresses barriers to solar, storage, and energy efficiency upgrades in low- to moderate-income communities, as detailed in the and . These resources provide a replicable foundation for neighborhood-scale clean energy implementation.

International Energy

Since PECC’s inception, it has had strong involvement in international energy issues, climate change mitigation, and adaption, focusing on energy-related climate change solutions and equitable models of climate financing. PECC is a member of the official ISDS Working Group that emerged from the Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuel Conference organized by the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. This working group is being led by the Center for Economics and Policy Research in partnership with the Colombian Ministry of the Environment. This multidisciplinary group of policy expert will examine the role that ISDS plays in inhibiting a just transition away from fossil fuels, and will prepare a practical briefing for environmental ministries and other officials who are approaching these issues from a climate perspective, as opposed to an investment law perspective. PECC is also a member of IRENA's Coalition for Action where it is an active member of the Community Energy and Renewable Energy Solutions for Vulnerable Groups Task Forces.

Clean Energy Training Resources

PECC harnesses the resources of the #1 Environmental Law Program in the nation to create clean energy training resources for municipalities and professionals. Utilizing its vast network of academics, practitioners, and energy experts, PECC develops materials and curriculum to train community leaders and others on their rights related to, and ability to be an active participant in, regulatory proceedings related to energy affordability and the clean energy transition. PECC’s role in developing, and advancing, subnational engagement strategies is particularly crucial when national governments are abdicating their responsibility to address the climate crisis.

Data Centers

PECC has been intimately involved with numerous state-level initiatives to design and implement policies to ensure that data center development does not continue unimpeded without considering communities' concerns. PECC has submitted comments to New York's Data Center Community Investment Framework ("CIF") arguing that the CIF should include: (i) explicit transparency requirements that disclose the potential impacts that data center development have on air and water quality; (ii) a commitment to not use on-site fossil fuel generation, either as a primary or backup energy source; (iii) protections that avoid incentives for local governments to accept economic investments at the cost of social benefits.. PECC will continue to leverage its unbiased reputation, and the relationships it has fostered over 35 years, to ensure that New York is accountable to people over data center developers' profits.

Utility Ratemaking

Historically, PECC has been an active intervenor in utility ratemaking cases. PECC plans to intervene in utility ratemaking cases to ensure that energy remains affordable, and that utilities maintain an energy mix consistent with states’ climate goals, ensuring that greenhouse gas emissions’ reductions are prioritized, and that environmental justice and equity are being properly considered.

Biofuels

PECC is collaborating with international scholars and researchers to develop policy recommendations related to biofuels. Many biofuel policies, and especially those encouraging crop-based fuel, may inadvertently promote deforestation, threaten food security, and promote environmental degradation under a sustainable tag. PECC is examining the legal, environmental, social, and economic landscape of biofuel incentives in the United States, comparing them with international standards, to identify policies that effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions without sacrificing other environmental considerations.

Indigenous Energy Sovereignty

PECC works closely with several NGOs, other academic institutions, and tribal-owned energy professionals to identify regulatory barriers to clean energy deployment in Indigenous communities and to empower those communities with the means, knowledge, and autonomy to shape their clean energy futures.

Intersection of Energy and Conservation

PECC is cognizant of the environmental impact that energy production often has on the natural world. PECC intends to examine the manner in which clean energy solutions can be advanced in a manner that does not harm conservation efforts. PECC is particularly passionate about defending the ocean and will continue to produce scholarship and resources dedicated to protecting ocean ecosystems from the environmental harms related to deep seabed mining.