Environment

2016 Financial Condition Report
For Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2016

Created in 1993, the EPF:
- provides an ongoing source of primarily pay-as-you-go funding to address the State’s environmental capital spending needs.
- supports a broad array of environmental programs, such as: State and municipal open space conservation; municipal and agricultural non-point source water pollution control; State and local parks projects; municipal water pollution control and aquatic habitat conservation; support for the State’s zoos, botanical gardens and aquaria; waterfront revitalization; and farmland conservation.
- is primarily funded with a portion of the State’s real estate transfer tax.
Appropriations to the EPF have fluctuated over the life of the fund:
- from an initial funding level of $31.5 million in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 1994-95;
- to a low of $0 in SFY 2001-02; and
- to a high of $250 million in SFY 2002-03 and again in SFY 2007-08.
In SFY 2015-16, $177 million was appropriated to the EPF.

New York Works appropriations in SFY 2015-16 were made to the capital budgets of the:
- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for $40 million for various purposes including dam safety, recreational access projects and infrastructure upgrades; and
- New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for $112.5 million to maintain and upgrade infrastructure in State Parks facilities.

NYSERDA accounts for a significant amount of spending on environmentally-related energy programs.
In SFY 2015-16, NYSERDA:
- disbursed $810.3 million for programs including energy efficiency deployment, Green Jobs/Green New York, the Renewable Portfolio Standard, and the Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard.
- derived most of its revenue from two sources:
  - approximately $43.6 million was appropriated in the State Budget; and
  - approximately $780.8 million was generated by assessments on energy consumption as ordered by the New York State Public Service Commission and through auction of allowances through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ($127.4 million).

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration:

In 2015, the State’s average electricity prices fell to the eighth highest in the nation.
In 2014, 23 percent of the State’s electricity generation came from renewable resources. Between 2010 and 2014, the capacity of solar electric generation enrolled in a utility net-metering program increased nearly eightfold, from 41.5 megawatts to 312.7 megawatts.
Among all states, New York State:
- had the lowest per capita consumption of energy in 2013 (Wyoming consumed the most per capita); and
- ranked ninth in generation of carbon dioxide emissions in 2013 (Texas ranked first).

In 2014, the value of agricultural production in the State was approximately $6.4 billion.
In 2014, New York State was ranked third among the states in the export of dairy products, valued at $500.3 million.
The State ranked second among all states in the production of maple syrup in 2014, with 546,000 gallons produced.

Environment