Governor Kathy Hochul announced that 6 gigawatts (GW) of distributed solar have been installed across New York, marking the early achievement of the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act statutory goal a year ahead of schedule.
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The solar power generation, which benefits homes, business owners and off-takers of community solar projects, is enough to power more than a million homes, underscoring New York’s leadership in growing one of the strongest distributed solar markets in the nation.
“Today we celebrate the early achievement of New York’s 6-GW milepost, which brings us one step closer to a reliable and resilient zero-emission grid,” Governor Kathy Hochul said.
“Distributed solar is at the heart of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding the availability of renewable energy, and delivering substantial benefits for our health, our environment, and our economy.”
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Doreen M. Harris made the announcement at a distributed solar project in the Town of New Scotland.
The project, developed by New Leaf Energy and owned by Generate Capital, includes a 5.7-megawatt solar array that will produce 6.7 million kilowatt-hours of solar energy annually, enough to power nearly one thousand homes.
The project participates in the Solar for All pilot program with utility partner National Grid where the energy harnessed by this project benefits low-income households.
With the achievement of New York’s 6-GW goal—which is underpinned by support from the State’s signature $3.3 billion NY Sun initiative—distributed solar is generating enough energy to power more than a million homes and businesses across the state, including those in disadvantaged communities.
The expeditious achievement of the 6-GW goal has also generated approximately $9.2 billion in private investment across New York.
To date, solar projects in New York have created more than 14,000 solar jobs statewide, from engineering and design to installation.
In addition, New York requires all solar projects more than 1 megawatt (MW) in size to pay prevailing wages, further supporting the opportunity to advance family sustaining clean energy jobs across New York.
In anticipation of the success, three years ago Governor Hochul directed NYSERDA and the Department of Public Service to expand the goal to 10 GW by 2030. With 6 GW now complete, New York continues to be ahead of schedule for reaching the expanded 10-GW goal with almost 3.4 GW already in development.
New York is the national leader in community solar deployments, allowing renters, low-income residents, and others who cannot install their own panels to benefit from solar energy.
In 2023, New York ranked first in the nation in total installed community solar capacity. Last year was also the state’s most productive year ever for solar installations, with 885 MW of capacity installed.
Through NY-Sun, New York is making it much easier for low-income households to benefit from solar projects through the first of its kind Solar for All pilot program.
The Solar for All program, which is administered through NYSERDA, allows solar project developers to partner with National Grid to provide additional bill savings to low-income customers in their Energy Affordability Program (EAP).
The Public Service Commission has approved an order to replicate NYSERDA’s Solar for All pilot program statewide, including solar projects in National Grid, ConEdison, Orange and Rockland, New York State Electric and Gas, Central Hudson Gas & Electric, and Rochester Gas and Electric utility territories.
The statewide Solar for All program delivers an electric bill credit to EAP customers. The long-term program design is driving continued community solar and storage growth and directs the benefits of that growth to New York State’s low-income residents.
Building on this effort, in April 2024, NYSERDA was selected to receive nearly $250 million from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Solar for All program to enhance New York State’s existing portfolio of highly successful and effective solar deployment, technical assistance, and workforce development programs for the benefit of over 6.8 million residents that live in low-income households and disadvantaged communities.
As part of the grant funding, the New York State Housing and Community Renewal, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and New York City Housing Preservation and Development, will also implement new programs that target specific barriers to solar deployment for this population. ■
A trailing cold front in connection with a low pressure system currently moving east across the Great Lakes toward New England will bring a chance of rain into the eastern U.S. on this first day of November following an exceptionally dry October for this part of the country.