People don't normally associate New York with solar energy, but a new bill moving through the state's legislature combined with the efforts of governor Andrew Cuomo could help make it a hot spot for the clean energy business.
Last year, New York launched its NY-Sun Initiative intended to help encourage homeowners and businesses to install solar panels, with the hope of quadrupling the number of small-scale on-site installations.
In the wake of the devastating Hurricane Sandy, many New Yorkers grew frustrated with the long wait times to get the grid up and running, and some looked to the extensive solar panels in neighboring New Jersey that, in many cases, proved vital as repairs were still ongoing.
Cuomo has already taken a step toward encouraging greater use of sustainable energy solutions by boosting NY-Sun with another $150 million each year for the next decade, as well as by creating a $1 billion green bank to help finance clean energy projects.
Now the legislature has gotten involved as well, pushing the New York Solar Bill through the Assembly Energy committee late last week - legislation that would provide the funding for the massive expansion that the governor imagined.
"This bill will serve to expand upon access to a clean, renewable energy source that must be part of the conversation regarding the energy future of our state and nation," assemblyman Steven Englebright, a Democrat from Setauket and the bill's sponsor, said in a statement. "I applaud governor Cuomo and assemblywoman (Amy) Paulin for taking the lead on this issue and urge my colleagues in the senate to join us in ensuring that New York's energy future is on a sustainable track."
The bill is expected to create thousands of jobs in the state and actually lower the high New York electricity rates by helping fund the construction of 2.2 gigawatts of solar power installations within the next decade. That would be enough to power roughly 400,000 homes.
New York is not the only one in the area that has been expanding its solar programs though. The Solar Energy Industries Association recently gave its support to a move by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities for choosing to scale up two of its key solar financing programs specifically targeted toward landfills and brownfields. With New Jersey electricity prices even higher than in New York, the decision could be a big boost down the line as solar prices continue to drop.
Sam Ritter is chief operating officer of Plymouth Rock Energy, Woodmere, N.Y.
For more information, please visit www.plymouthenergy.com or call 855-32-POWER (855-327-6937).
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