Recent Projects – Public Comments

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Department of Public Service Staff recently proposed modifications to New York's Tier 1 Index Renewable Energy Credit program—the mechanism through which the state procures new large-scale renewable development. The updates aim to save ratepayers money by reducing the need for developers to incorporate costly risk premiums into their REC bids. In our comments, we argue the agencies’ proposal relies on some unexplained assumptions and outdated EPA data.

In 2024, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) updated its floodplain management standards to increase the resilience of HUD-assisted and -insured projects to the effects of climate change (2024 Rule). In particular, the 2024 Rule modernized HUD’s approach to defining the floodplain by incorporating forward-looking information that reflects climate change’s effects on flood risk. HUD now proposes to rescind that rule, relying on poorly supported economic arguments. Policy Integrity submitted a comment letter regarding HUD’s Proposed Rule that raises several criticisms.

In 2023, EPA updated its emissions standards for heavy-duty engines and vehicles, but the agency now seeks to weaken many provisions of the 2023 Rule and spurns decades of agency practice and an enormous scientific record by declining to incorporate in its analysis any estimates of the impact of increased concentrations of particulate matter and ozone on human health. We submitted comments to EPA, along with our partners at Clean Air Task Force, Environmental Defense Fund, Montana Environmental Information Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Union of Concerned Scientists, explaining that the agency’s new claim that these estimates are too uncertain is flawed for numerous reasons.

In June, the Bureau of Land Management proposed to rescind key elements of its 2024 rule to reduce waste of natural gas from venting, flaring, and leaks on federal lands, including the leak detection and repair program. As our comment explains, the agency's analysis is severely inadequate.

On July 31, 2026, PJM filed revisions to its pricing system to implement a new Reliability Backstop Procurement, which will authorize PJM to hold a “backstop auction” that procures 6.8 gigawatts of new electricity-generation capacity for fixed, 15-year terms. PJM designed the backstop auction to address capacity shortfalls triggered by forecasted data center demand growth by providing resources with price certainty for long-term, fixed contracts. Policy Integrity explains that holding a backstop auction is not just and reasonable, but if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permits PJM to run some version of the backstop auction, the commission should require PJM to adjust its design.

The Institute for Policy Integrity submitted comments to the Department of Energy opposing proposed revisions to its Process Rule for setting appliance and equipment energy conservation standards under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The comments detail five critical legal and analytical flaws in the agency's proposed framework.

On June 29, 2026, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) filed revisions to its pricing system to comply with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 1920's requirements for transmission providers to engage in long-term, holistic transmission planning. Policy Integrity explains that NYISO's compliance filing may not be consistent with Order 1920 because NYISO's current methods do not consider ways in which transmission can meet New York State's resource adequacy needs. Policy Integrity further comments that NYISO can address this defect in its compliance filing and improve its transmission planning process by adopting modeling tools that account for the interdependency of transmission, generation, and storage.

The Institute for Policy Integrity submitted comments to the Federal Aviation Administration on its proposed rule to replace the longstanding ban on commercial supersonic overland flight with a noise- and overpressure-based standard. While we support shifting to a flexible performance standard as a sound first step, we urge the agency to explicitly acknowledge key uncertainties in its final rule, including potential public health and welfare impacts from evanescent waves, secondary sonic booms, and accidental overpressure limit exceedances.

Policy Integrity submitted a comment letter on the Department of Energy’s request for information on its methodology for assessing the affordability and cost-effectiveness of building energy codes, which governs the analysis the agency uses to evaluate updates to the national model codes and to set energy standards for federal buildings.

In March 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued final rules that require public companies and other securities issuers in the United States to disclose certain climate-related financial information in their registration statements and periodic reports. In April 2024, the SEC voluntarily stayed the 2024 Rules pending the resolution of litigation that remains ongoing. Now, under new leadership after the change in presidential administration, the SEC has proposed to rescind the 2024 Rules altogether. Policy Integrity commented on the proposed rescission, raising several criticisms.