“Regulatory capture is a government failure where a public regulatory agency prioritizes the commercial or special interests of an industry over public welfare. It is driven by heavy lobbying, the "revolving door" of personnel between agencies and private firms, and information asymmetry.”
Investopedia
To no one's surprise, New York's Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Canadian renewable energy company Boralex's request to transfer its Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) permits to Brookfield Asset Management without any further review.
This ruling was issued on July 23, 2026.
The docket where you can review the materials yourself can be found here.
On May 7, 2026, Boralex asked the PSC to allow it to transfer its solar permits to Brookfield Asset Management, the company acquiring Boralex, without triggering any additional filing requirements or municipal notice requirements. Brookfield is an even larger Canadian renewable energy conglomerate with ties to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The four solar complexes that are being traded like Pokémon cards amongst foreign corporations include:
Fort Edward Solar
Little Salmon Solar
Two Rivers Solar
Fort Covington Solar
This comes to over 13,100 acres of Upstate New York farmland, designated grassland habitat, state-endangered species, and water sources that are locked into ORES permits being shifted between foreign corporations.
Since ORES and the PSC are captured by the industries they are tasked with regulating, the corporations receive everything they ask for today.
Boralex specifically asked that its permits be transferred with no “time delays” and that the PSC issue a ruling “quickly” so they can get on with business (also known as cashing in on green energy subsidies and credits).
My attorney found this hidden Boralex docket last month. We filed in response.
On July 23, 2026, Rory Christian, PSC Chair, along with the six other PSC Commissioners, granted Boralex exactly what they requested.
They ruled that: “No further review under PSL §70 was required.”
The Commission concluded the transfer would not create horizontal market power, create vertical market power, or harm captive utility ratepayers. Therefore, under its longstanding Wallkill Presumption, the upstream ownership transfer did not need a full §70 approval proceeding.
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My attorney asked for the following inside of our opposition filing:
Require a supplemental verified petition before acting
Notify affected municipalities and ORES parties
Decline to issue an expedited declaratory ruling
We argued that a §70 review isn't limited solely to market power and captive ratepayer issues… that the Commission's public-interest authority also encompasses ongoing siting, mitigation, decommissioning, financial security, and compliance obligations.
Of course, the PSC responded by saying that was “out of scope” for the ruling.
Importantly, we argued the PSC had an independent obligation to document its consideration under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), rather than relying on the applicants' assertions.
In the case of regulatory capture, the PSC, the Department of Public Service, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and ORES defer to the foreign corporations over our state’s own regulations and laws.
This has left New Yorkers with no ability to defend themselves outside of suing the state directly. Since the average New Yorker can’t afford to enter into two-year litigation to defend their home rule, ORES and the PSC are running rampant over our communities while standing by as our history, agrarian heritage, farmland, water sources, and species are traded amongst foreign corporations like a game of Go Fish.
The seven PSC Commissioners complicit in these rulings include:
Rory M. Christian – Chair and Chief Executive Officer
James S. Alesi – Commissioner
Uchenna S. Bright – Commissioner
John B. Maggiore – Commissioner
Denise M. Sheehan – Commissioner
Dave J. Valesky – Commissioner
Radina Valova – Commissioner
This is the same Public Service Commission that votes on and approves increases to New York State ratepayers' electric bills. The commissioners are appointed by our governor and serve six-year terms.
For those of us who have been tracking ORES projects in our communities, it is blatant to see: foreign countries, companies, and interests are running our state government.
That is why federal governmental intervention is necessary.
As this ruling above shows, they aren’t even interested in hiding or covering up the regulatory capture. The money must be that good.
More to come.
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