N.Y. State Energy Regulator Proposes Revised Rules to Accelerate Permitting

45-Day Public Comment Period on Revisions is Now Open

On October 22, 2025, New York State’s Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) released revisions to the proposed regulations to implement the Renewable Action Through Project Interconnection and Deployment Act (RAPID Act). The RAPID Act was enacted to accelerate the siting of both major renewable energy facilities (25 MW+) and major electric transmission facilities (125 kV+). Under the RAPID Act, ORES now administers the environmental review, permitting and siting of these facilities in NYS under the new Article VIII process.

After proposing initial regulations in December 2024, ORES received more than 2,000 public comments. In response to these comments, ORES has issued revisions to its proposed regulations. There is now a 45-day public comment period on these revisions, with comments due by December 8, 2025.

The revisions focus on the following seven key areas:

1. (Pre-)Application Procedures

There were several updates made to procedures in both the pre-application and application phases of the Article VIII process. The most significant changes proposed include the following:

1. Require a project applicant to consult with each Indigenous Nation in the project area at least 90 days prior to application filing (previous timeline was 60 days). Indigenous Nations are treated similarly to local agencies by requiring an applicant to discuss with the Nation the proposed project and implications it may have on the Nation.
2. Require discussion of host community benefits at the local agency pre-application meeting and an accounting of the applicant’s best efforts to negotiate such agreements in the application.
3. Clarify that an application must comply with all substantive local laws and regulations in effect on the date of application filing. To ensure new local laws are taken into consideration by the applicant and ORES, a provision was added to require municipalities, after receiving a 60-day notice of intent to file an application, to provide formal notice to the applicant and ORES regarding any new local laws that will be filed before the proposed date of the application filing.
4. Clarify that application amendments are allowed after the issuance of a notice of complete application. For major amendments, additional local agency account funding is authorized.

2. Alternative Route Scoping Procedures for Transmission Facilities

This scoping procedure allows third parties to propose alternative routes within 65 days of receiving a notice of intent to file an application. The revisions added a definition of “reasonable alternative route,” which under Article VIII means “a route that would reasonably be expected to avoid and minimize significant adverse impacts to identified environmental resources, or public health and safety, or is in the public and ratepayer interest.” In addition, they clarified the required showing by the third party to support its proposed alternative route for consideration by ORES and the applicant.

3. Procedures for Upgrades and New Work on Transmission Facilities Located Within Existing Rights-Of-Way

The revisions now split types of work within existing rights-of-way into two procedural “tracks” to streamline approvals. Track 1 projects involve existing facilities with an Article VII certificate (the pre-RAPID Act siting approval process), and Track 2 projects involve any work within an existing right-of-way without a certificate. The revisions update the regulations to operate these tracks most efficiently. In addition, the definition of “substantially within existing electric transmission right-of-way” has been expanded to include “any additional terrestrial rights-of-way that are required to avoid or minimize significant adverse impacts associated with the existing facility.”

4. Additional Noise, Vibration and Visual Impact Standards for Both Renewable Energy and Transmission Facilities

Revisions include additional requirements for review of cumulative noise, vibration and visual impacts for both renewable energy and transmission facilities.

5. Wetlands Development Requirements Clarified

1. The revisions carve out an exception to activities previously unallowed in state-regulated wetlands, where the applicant can demonstrate that the proposed activity meets certain standards, such as “no practicable alternative.” Where the standards are met, the activity is allowed in the wetland with a 3:1 mitigation ratio required.
2. Mitigation options have also increased. The revisions add language requiring mitigation only for long-term impacts and expressly allow in-lieu fee programs.
3. For solar arrays located in agriculturally disturbed areas, the revisions enable siting of facility components in disturbed areas without requiring off site mitigation.
4. In addition, to align with recent changes to NYS’ wetland regulations, the revisions specify that wetland Jurisdictional Determinations are valid for five years.

6. Uniform Standards and Conditions (USCS) for Permitting

Overall, the USCs for renewable energy and transmission facilities did not undergo significant changes. However, one change to note is that approved permits are now proposed to expire if the project does not commence commercial operation after five years; the initial regulations set the expiration at three years.

7. Stand-Alone Battery Energy Storage Systems

The revisions clarify that battery energy storage systems that are not co-located with a major renewable energy facility are not under the jurisdiction of ORES.