* § 1912. Powers and duties. The authority is hereby authorized and directed to undertake such actions it deems necessary or convenient to establish, augment, or expand existing renewable energy outreach and community planning programs to provide information, resources and technical assistance to support the siting, development, and acceptance of renewable energy technologies, including:

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1. Developing and enhancing a community education and engagement program to inform New Yorkers about the climate crisis and the benefits of shifting to a clean energy economy and conducting outreach, providing information and education, and building consensus on the environmental and local benefits of renewable energy technologies. Such strategic education and outreach shall include:

(a) Effective communication, engagement and public outreach to communities, including disadvantaged communities, to provide education and information on maximizing the benefits that renewable energy technologies can provide while demonstrating strategies and solutions that are available to ensure that community benefits are meaningful and negative impacts are avoided, reduced, or mitigated;

(b) Comprehensive education and outreach to local governments that may host renewable energy technologies to provide objective information about the impacts of renewable energy development and mitigation opportunities; and

(c) Facilitation of forums for communities, regions, renewable energy developers, and other stakeholders to exchange information and ensure that all have access to the factual information necessary to support the appropriate siting of facilities and acceptance of renewable energy technologies.

2. Collaborating with community stakeholders, the agriculture and forestry sectors, and the renewable energy industry to develop, facilitate, and provide centralized access to renewable energy planning resources and assistance for local governments. Such resources shall include publicly available data resources, including a mapping tool, related to renewable energy development to help municipal representatives and local communities make informed land use decisions and communicate local priorities to developers.

(a) The renewable energy development data resources, including a mapping tool, shall be available on the authority's website and shall provide sufficient information and guidance to allow communities to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the potential for renewable energy development and to plan proactively for deployment that maximizes local benefit and avoids, reduces, or mitigates negative impact on lands with agricultural soils, farming, forests, and other competing uses.

(b) The renewable energy development data resources may use publicly available information and shall be designed to facilitate participation by local governments, renewable energy developers and other stakeholders in existing renewable energy siting and planning processes.

(c) The renewable energy development data resources shall provide, to the extent available information on agricultural, environmental, energy system and other resources relevant to renewable energy technology siting, such as: land use cover data; disadvantaged communities; brownfields; previously disturbed and developed sites such as large rooftops, parking lots, landfills, etc.; agricultural soils and agricultural districts; forests; wetlands, floodplains, and waterbodies; historic, cultural, and archaeological resources; public parks, preserves and recreational resources; conserved and protected lands; hosting capacity; distribution, and transmission lines; and topography as relevant to siting renewable energy technology.

3. Providing technical assistance and training to local governments and other stakeholders on the use of such information and resources, including the renewable energy development data resources.

4. Consulting, collaborating with, and/or procuring the services of service providers, including, but not limited to: regional planning associations, non-profits, and community-based organizations, to conduct outreach and education about renewable energy benefits, develop new renewable energy planning tools and resources, including renewable energy development data resources, and to provide technical assistance and training to municipalities to support the authority's responsibilities under this section.

5. Managing, allocating, and spending any monies made available to the authority in furtherance of this title as the authority determines to be appropriate for the proper administration of the program created pursuant to this title.

6. Requesting and receiving the assistance of the departments or any other state agency or authority, within their respective relevant subject matter expertise, to support the administration of the program created pursuant to this title.

* NB Repealed December 31, 2031