This comes despite Vice President Kamala Harris's recent shift in stance, expressing her support for natural gas drilling. "We're not fracking, we're not burning coal. We're not going backwards," declared Hochul, a Democrat, during the summit focused on the future energy economy.
According to The New York Post, Harris, who is the Democratic nominee for the presidency, had previously opposed fracking during her initial run for the Oval Office in 2020. However, in a recent CNN interview, she stated, "As vice president I did not ban fracking. As president I will not ban fracking." This change in position is significant, given that fracking is a major job creator, particularly in key battleground states like Pennsylvania.
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Despite the potential economic benefits, Hochul has made it clear that she is not in favor of fracking, particularly in New York's gas-rich southern tier of the Marcellus Shale formation that borders Pennsylvania. Instead, she championed the use of carbon-free power sources such as offshore wind, solar, geothermal, and other types of energy. Nuclear power was also discussed as a potential energy source during the summit.
Fracking, a drilling procedure that involves injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rock to extract oil or gas, has been a contentious issue. A decade-old report by the Manhattan Institute think tank estimated that permitting fracking could create between 15,000 to 18,000 jobs in the Southern Tier and Western New York, generating up to $11.4 billion in economic output and $1.4 billion in state and local tax revenue.
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However, the potential economic benefits of fracking are overshadowed by concerns about its environmental impact. In 2014, former Governor Andrew Cuomo banned fracking following a health department study that cited potential public health risks due to the possibility of groundwater contamination. The Democratic-run legislature shows little inclination to revisit the issue, and fracking continues to face intense opposition from environmental activists and celebrities alike.
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The debate over fracking also extends to New York's burgeoning wine industry, with vintners in the nearby Finger Lakes region expressing their opposition to the practice. As the state continues to grapple with its energy future, it remains to be seen how these differing viewpoints will shape its approach.
