Electricity will be greener, less wasteful, and cheaper under a new plan from a state board. WNYC's Ilya Marritz reports.

REPORTER: The 2009 State Energy Plan is supposed to guide all decisions agencies make about electricity over the next decade. In dozens of ways, it nudges utilities and consumers towards cleaner fuels and new technology. James Van Nostrand is with the Pace Energy and Climate Center. He says New York now has a decent chance of achieving an ambitious goal - meeting 45 percent of electricity needs through renewables and energy efficiency in the next five years.

VAN NOSTRAND: 45 by 15 is officially in place and I think it's up to the environmental groups and the other stakeholders to hold state agencies accountable.

REPORTER: But some environmentalists are criticizing the plan because it calls for a doubling in the state's natural gas production.

For, WNYC I'm Ilya Marritz