Just Transition Site Reuse Planning Program

Description of goods to services to be bid: 

April 7, 2025 The following changes have been made to PON 4563:

- Launch of Site Reuse Toolkit
- Clarified that look back date for eligible power plants decommissioned is August 3, 2016 (five years prior to original PON launch date)
- Expanded applicant eligibility from power plants commencing operations prior to 2010 to all power plants currently operating regardless of commencement year

August 2, 2024: The following changes have been made to PON 4563, Just Transition Site Reuse Planning:

Extend program application deadline to June 30, 2026

The following changes have been made to PON 4563, Just Transition Site Reuse Planning:

March 15, 2022:

1)Updated language in Section I to reflect program objectives, emphasizing that NYSERDA does not identify power plant closures
2)Section II Program Requirements expands eligibility from those that commenced operations prior to 1990 to prior to 2010 and is currently operating.
3)Application was updated to reflect updated eligibility criteria and to clarify select questions

Just Transition Site Reuse Planning Program  is intended to advance New York State’s goal of moving to a clean energy economy by assisting communities transitioning away from conventional energy infrastructure they have hosted over the past several decades, including fossil-fuel power plants. This includes supporting activities associated with site reuse planning to help communities spur diversified, 21st Century economic development and thrive in the move to a clean energy economy. Under PON 4563, NYSERDA is offering site reuse planning and technical support services to individual municipalities that are navigating power plant retirement and site reuse opportunities.

With New York’s commitment to cleaner forms of energy well underway as part of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the State is taking proactive steps to assist communities (County, City, Town or Village) transitioning away from conventional energy infrastructure they have hosted over the past several decades, including fossil-fuel power plants. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in coordination with Site Reuse Planning Contractors (SRPC) will provide services to assist communities with navigating site reuse planning and technical support services to individual municipalities navigating power plant retirement and site and reuse opportunities. Under PON 4563, SRPCs will develop a Site Reuse Planning Study. NYSERDA will provide 100% of the site reuse planning costs as defined in PON 4563, with no cost share required by the applicant.

The scope of services to be provided by NYSERDA and SPRCs in developing the applicant’s Site Reuse Planning Study may include some, or all, of the following elements, based on needs and other planning activities undertaken by the applicant:

Baseline planning tasks:
• Evaluation of Existing Site
• Economic Analysis
• Stakeholder Input
• Alternative Reuse Plans
• Demolition and Abatement
• Public Health Impacts
• Recommended Actions & Timeline

Pre-Development Activities:
For applicants who have completed the baseline planning tasks, technical assistance under PON 4563 is available to support further pre-development work to assist the applicant in achieving more advanced community revitalization goals. Examples of pre-development activities include:
• Detailed Infrastructure Assessment
• Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment
• Development of Marketing Collateral
• Site Planning
• Workforce Development Strategies
• Non-Site-Specific Community Revitalization Strategies
• Tailored Public Engagement Methods
• Others as determined through the initial baseline planning process

If changes are made to this solicitation notification will be posted on NYSERDA’s website at: www.nyserda.ny.gov/funding-opportunities

Eligibility/Qualifications Requirements/Preferences:

• Applicant must be County, City, Town or Village that is home to a fossil-fuel power plant that has been decommissioned within the last five (5) years, is currently being decommissioned, or has confirmed its plans to retire and deactivate by a certain date in the future. Applicants that are home to other operating fossil fuel facilities that commenced operations prior to 1990 will also be considered. Note, however, that each application must be made pursuant to a single fossil-fuel power plant facility, rather than for multiple facilities that may be located in a single municipality.
• Applicants should be the level of government with land use/regulatory authority of the power plant site, or a partnership between levels of government with vested interests in the site reuse (land use/regulatory authority may include property ownership or regulatory controls, such as the ability to implement zoning and land use regulations specific to the power plant site). Applications that are being submitted on behalf of a partnership must include the primary applicant (e.g., a county applying on behalf of a town that has land use/regulatory authority over the power plant site) and letters of support from partnering levels of government.