NEW SCOTLAND, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Officials made a major announcement Thursday that supports the state’s nation-leading renewable energy goals. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) touted how the state is on target with solar energy.
President and CEO of NYSERDA Doreen Harris was at a solar farm in the Town of New Scotland when she announced they’ve hit their first climate act goal one year ahead of schedule.
NYSERDA was joined by New Leaf Energy, Generate Capital and lawmakers as they celebrated six gigawatts of distributed solar energy in the state, powering over one million homes and businesses and lowering electric bills for New Yorkers.
“We are the number one community solar market in the nation, two years going. And there will be many more to come because this is just the beginning, folks. Hitting this milestone is reflective of the durability of the commitment that our state has made to distributed solar,” said Harris.
She said hitting the milestone supports the goals outlined in the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Officials thanked the NY-Sun team, and many other private and public sector agencies.
“This team is what really helps it make this all possible. And they have come from New York City and Albany and everywhere else. So big kudos to them,” said Vice President of Distributed Energy Resources at NYSERDA David Sandbank.
The Sun Team has led efforts to make it easier for low income households to benefit from solar projects.
“Behind me you see a 5.7 megawatt solar array, producing 6.7 million kilowatt hours of solar energy annually, nearly enough to power 1,000 homes,” said Harris.
Chair of the New York State Public Service Commission Rory Christian reiterated that the state is ahead of its 2025 goal and on target to hit its 10 gigawatts by 2030 goal.
“Every kilowatt hour we produce for solar and other renewables is a kilowatt hour we avoid producing through fossil fuels,” said Christian.
He said a lot of work happened behind the scenes to get to this point, including years of regulatory review, legal processes, policies being established and incentives being put forward.
In April, the Biden administration selected NYSERDA to receive nearly $250 million in EPA funds to expand the “Solar For All” program in the state.
“That we are so far ahead of our goals is a testament to all the work we've done and a sign of success to date and more to come,” said Christian.
