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For Immediate Release: 10/14/21 Rory M. Christian, Chief Executive Officer Contact:
James Denn | James.Denn@dps.ny.gov | (518) 474-7080
21105 / 19-E-0735 October 14, 2021
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Increased NY-Sun Incentives Made Available for Certain NYC and Westchester County Solar Projects |
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Interim Increased Incentives Available for Solar Projects on Regulated Affordable Housing
ALBANY — The New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) today announced that it would direct the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to immediately double its incentive to solar developers seeking to install community solar on affordable housing projects in New York City and Westchester County served by Con Edison.
“It is critically important that low- to moderate-income families have access to the clean, renewable energy that they need,” said DPS CEO Rory M. Christian. “This interim measure will help bolster New York City’s solar market until long-term funding is readily available. With this funding, we recommit to increase the amount of renewable energy available in New York City while creating more jobs in the solar industry.” With today’s action, NYSERDA will make up to $5 million available. It is expected that the added funding will enable up to an additional five megawatts (MW) of solar power in New York City and parts of Westchester served by Con Edison. To date, NYSERDA has committed $13.7 million in NY-Sun funding to 371 projects on regulated affordable housing properties in New York City. The increased incentives will continue the creation of new clean-energy jobs in New York City while it continues development for affordable housing. In September, Governor Kathy Hochul called for the expansion of the highly successful NY-Sun program to achieve an expanded goal of at least 10 gigawatts of distributed solar installed by 2030. Expanding the program is expected to help bolster the State's economic recovery following Covid-19, with the creation of an additional 6,000 solar jobs beyond the 12,000 that now exist across the State, a portion of which will be ongoing operations and maintenance jobs which will remain throughout the 25+ year project lifespans.
The program expansion will also deliver at least 35 percent of the benefits from the investments to disadvantaged communities and low-to moderate- income New Yorkers. Increasing solar energy capacity statewide will rapidly accelerate progress to exceed New York's nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal for 70 percent of the State's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, on the path to a zero-emission grid. The interim incentive is being made available while DPS and NYSERDA develop a distributed solar roadmap to be issued this fall to chart a path to advance an expanded NY-Sun goal in a resilient, cost effective and responsible manner. The projects resulting from the expanded goal are expected to power nearly 1.7 million homes and will be advanced comprehensively — including serving those in disadvantaged communities. The roadmap will ensure these projects are developed and sited in a manner that fully considers land use and are advanced in close collaboration with local stakeholders and agricultural communities. Once the plan is filed with the Public Service Commission, it will be made available for public comment this fall, and subsequent decision-making in early 2022.
Since 2011, NY-Sun, New York State's $1.8 billion initiative to advance the scale-up of solar and move the State closer to having a sustainable, self-sufficient solar industry, has:
New York State's Nation-Leading Climate Plan
New York State's nation-leading climate agenda is the most aggressive climate and clean energy initiative in the nation, calling for an orderly and just transition to clean energy that creates jobs and continues fostering a green economy as New York State recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Enshrined into law through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York is on a path to achieve its mandated goal of a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and to reach economy wide carbon neutrality. It builds on New York's unprecedented investments to ramp-up clean energy including over $21 billion in 91 large-scale renewable projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce buildings emissions, $1.8 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $1.2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. Combined, these investments are supporting more than 150,000 jobs in New York's clean energy sector in 2019, a 2,100 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011 and a commitment to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. Under the Climate Act, New York will build on this progress and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, while ensuring that at least 35 percent with a goal of 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities, and advance progress towards the state's 2025 energy efficiency target of reducing on-site energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs of end-use energy savings.
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