Day 1: Pat Ryan Failure Tour — Ryan Failed on His Million-Panel Promise, Just Like Albany Failed on Its Own. You're Left Paying the Bill.

KINGSTON, NY - September 21, 2026 — If you want to know what a policy really does, don't read the press release. Read the utility bill.

Day One of our week-long review of Pat Ryan's record starts with his Green New Deal, the "number one priority" he announced as Ulster County Executive: more than one million solar panels and 30,000 heat pumps over a decade.

It's the same kind of promise Kathy Hochul’s Albany has been making for years: a big number, a big deadline, and no price tag. Here's where Albany's version has landed us:

• New York residential electric rates are about 61% above the national average as of June 2026.
• A 2024 State Comptroller audit found ratepayers put up nearly $2.6 billion for the Clean Energy Standard between 2016 and 2021.
• The same audit found the cost of the transition has not been reasonably estimated, and that ratepayers are the primary source of funding.
• The state's own regulators admit they're behind on the 2030 target, now pushed to 2033.

The state missed its marks. Ryan missed his. And the people who got the bill are the ones who never got a vote on the price.

"Pat Ryan failed on his million-panel promise, just like Albany is failing on its own, and we're left paying the bill," said Jackie Auringer. "Sky-high utility costs are what this approach delivers, and Ryan never once told you what it would cost."

Do the math. A million typical panels covers about 21 million square feet, or roughly 365 football fields, nearly the whole Village of Fishkill. That's panels only, before you add access roads, equipment, setbacks and grid upgrades. And nobody ever said where it would go, what it would cost, or who would pay.

Here's a hint on who pays: it ain't Pat Ryan.

Now compare the promise to the record. A 2023 Ulster County Comptroller audit found 107.1 megawatts of completed solar countywide since 2000, with another 38.8 MW in the pipeline. At 400 watts a panel, that's about 268,000 panels, or 27 percent of the promise. And that counts everything built since 2000, long before Ryan took office. You can't take credit for a parade that started before you got to town.

"Typical Ryan oversell, underperform - leave residents holding the bag. The Hudson Valley deserves better," Auringer said.

DAY 1: THE GREEN NEW DEAL

• The promise: 1 million+ solar panels and 30,000 heat pumps
• NY residential rates vs. U.S. average (June 2026) ~61% higher
• Ratepayer contribution to Clean Energy Standard, 2016-2021 Nearly $2.6 billion (State Comptroller, 2024)
• Documented county solar, 2000 to present 107.1 MW (~268,000 panels at 400 W)
• Pat promises, you pay.

Tomorrow: Day 2 of the Pat Ryan Failure Tour.

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