Gov. Kathy Hochul has revealed that New York has become the top community solar market in the United States with more than 1 GW of community solar installed and operational – enough to serve 209,000 homes across the state. New York also boasts the nation’s largest solar pipeline, with enough community-solar capacity to provide electricity for an additional 401,000 homes. The announcement accelerates progress towards meeting the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) goal to generate 70% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and the governor’s goal to achieve 10 GW of solar by 2030.
“Reaching this nation-leading milestone – with more than 1 GW of community solar installed – is a testament to New York’s aggressive pursuit of clean-energy alternatives that will supercharge our economy and bring us one step closer to a carbon-neutral future,” Gov. Hochul states. “New York is once again making clean energy history, and with many families facing the burden of rising energy costs, my administration remains committed to expanding access to solar energy, which will deliver savings and stabilize electricity bills while meeting our aggressive climate goals.”
“Over 1 GW of progress was made today, enough to power over 200,000 homes across New York State,” says Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin. “When we think about the future of our state, we must think about both the economic prosperity we aim for in addition to the welfare of our children. Now, when those future generations of New Yorkers look toward today, they’ll know progress was made with them in mind. I’m proud to announce today that New York is the capital of solar power in the United States.”
Schenectady County made the announcement at a 7.5 MW community-scale solar project. This project is paired with 10MWh of energy storage located on the former landfill. The project is located in Glenville and was developed by DSD Renewables. It is also the owner/operator of the project. This site is part of a seven project portfolio, each with 25 MW. It was possible thanks to a collaboration between the Schenectady County Solar Energy Consortium.
In 2021, community solar accounted for 70% of all total solar installations in the state. In addition, New York’s distributed solar pipeline is now comprised of more than 708 of these projects totaling 2,300 MW. This pipeline is supplemented by 73 utility-scale solar projects that are being developed throughout New York State.
The achievement of this milestone has been underpinned by robust support from NYSERDA‘s NY-Sun program, the state’s signature $1.8 billion initiative to advance the scale-up of solar while driving costs down and making solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses, and communities. The state currently has 6 gigawatts distributed solar installed, and the projects that are in development. This brings it to 95% of its Climate Act goal.
You can read the complete release here.