Press Releases

IPPNY President and CEO Gavin Donohue Appointed to Climate Action Council

For Immediate Release: July 24, 2019
Contact: Joe Shahen, joseph.shahen@ippny.org, (518) 436-3749

Albany, NY, 7/24/19 – New York State Senate Minority Leader John J. Flanagan has appointed Independent Power Producers of New York (IPPNY) President and CEO Gavin J. Donohue to the New York State Climate Action Council, a 22-member body currently being assembled under the recently-enacted New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The new law requires 70 percent of New York’s electricity to come from renewable energy systems by 2030, the power sector to be zero-emitting by 2040, and statewide greenhouse gas emissions to decrease by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

Mr. Donohue said, “We appreciate Senator Flanagan entrusting power generators with the responsibility of serving on the Climate Action Council. Meeting the goals of the CLCPA will require a herculean effort to electrify New York State’s economy and modernize the electric power sector with next generation technologies. Fortunately, IPPNY Members are innovative industry leaders who will continue to make the investments necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the strictest reliability standards in the world. As recent events in New York City have demonstrated, reliability of the electric system is critical to New York’s viability, and we are grateful for the opportunity to ensure that our state’s new energy future is met responsibly.”

New York’s power sector has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 56 percent since 1990 –the largest decrease in these emissions of any sector in the State and a direct result of competitive market principles that attracted private investment in new power generation and emissions control technologies.

The full Council, comprised of representatives from State agencies as well as outside organizations, will be convened in January of 2020. The Council will consult with the New York Independent System Operator, the organization tasked with maintaining the State’s electric grid, and will convene advisory panels to develop recommendations on reaching the goals of the CLCPA. The final scoping plan is due in January 2023.

Mr. Donohue was named IPPNY’s President and CEO in 2003. Prior to joining the association, he served as Executive Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, an Assistant Secretary to Governor George E. Pataki, and Campaign Director for the successful 1996 $1.75 billion Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act. He has also served on a variety of commissions and committees, including Governor Andrew Cuomo's Energy & Environment & Recreation Transition Committee, the New York City Energy Policy Task Force under the Bloomberg Administration, the Energy and Environment Committee on New York Governor-Elect Eliot Spitzer's transition team, and was appointed to the Temporary Commission on the Future of New York State Power Programs for Economic Development by then-Governor Pataki. Mr. Donohue also brings a broader perspective on overseeing building construction as the Chairman of the Albany Convention Center Authority and on local government viewpoints having served as an Albany County Legislator.

For more information, please visit our website at www.ippny.org.

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IPPNY is an Albany-based trade association representing the competitive power supply industry in New York State. IPPNY Members generate the majority of New York's electricity using a wide variety of generating technologies and fuels including hydro, nuclear, wind, solar, oil, natural gas and biomass, and are actively developing energy storage projects. They have invested over $10 billion in their facilities and employ over 10,000 people. Annually, they pay over $600 million in taxes and invest more than $55 million in their communities.