ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)- There is enough solar energy to power over half a million homes in New York. Three gigawatts of current solar electricity being produced, combined with solar projects in progress, means the state is well on its way to meet its goal of six gigawatts by 2025.
The milestone was announced at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the largest solar project in the mid-Hudson region by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul along with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President/CEO Doreen M. Harris, and Principal at Generate Capital Peggy Flannery on Tuesday.
"As someone who grew up near Lake Erie and saw first-hand the harmful effects caused by emissions from the local steel plant, creating a cleaner, greener future has always been a personal fight for me," said Lt. Gov. Hohchul.
Current solar electricity production and projects represent 95% of the state's goal. The mid-Hudson solar farm is in the town of Bethel (Sullivan County) and owned by Generate Capital, the governor's office said.
"The success of NY-Sun demonstrates we are on track to meeting our nation-leading energy goals while stimulating green job growth and economic recovery in communities across the state as part of our comprehensive plan to reimagine New York following the pandemic," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"Public-private partnerships are a cornerstone of our work, and we are incredibly proud of our collaboration with the stakeholders, developers, and landowners that have helped us achieve our three gigawatts of solar milestone, an important step on the path to greening our energy grid as part of the State's equitable clean energy transition," said Harris.
"Community solar is a critical opportunity to democratize access to affordable clean energy and we are thrilled to congratulate New York State on reaching this 3GW deployment milestone," said Flannery.
