​Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, has announced the state's plans to build 22 clean energy developments across New York in a bid to rapidly hit the zero-emissions goal by 2040. Most of the projects will be in the form of solar energy plants.

Together, these renewable energy projects are expected to generate enough clean power to meet the needs of 620,000 homes in the state for at least two decades. At the same time, $2.7 billion of private investment will be secured and over 3,000 new and skilled jobs will be created.

The plans will help New York State move ever closer to hitting its objective of getting 70% of its electricity from clean sources by 2030.

Hochul said last year that New York state is planning to build distributed solar plants which will generate at least 10 GW of solar energy by 2030. This is a boost to the original state target of 6GW by 2025 and shows how New York's clean energy ambitions are growing.

Ms Hochul said that the projects would allow the state to beat its original 70% clean energy goal and to cement it as an American leader in the battle against climate change. She added that the 22 new developments would generate 4.5MWh of clean energy every year and cut over 2.2 million tonnes of carbon emissions from the environment, which is akin to removing 492,000 cars from the roads each year.

The latest news is a clear example of how individual states and businesses are leading the way to meet or beat original climate targets in a meaningful way. By doing so, they can powerfully commit to slash carbon emissions whilst boosting private investment, securing energy supply and creating thousands of skilled long-term jobs in a growth sector.