NY-Sun Initiative to provide $13.5 million to reduce solar installation costs/training

According to governor Andrew Cuomo, $13.5 million is available through the NY-Sun initiative for projects aimed at reducing the overall cost of installing photovoltaic (PV) solar electric systems and streamlining the inspection and permitting process for local officials. "The NY-Sun initiative is proving to be a driving force in making New York a national leader in the deployment of solar energy," said Cuomo. "These efforts to reduce installation costs and streamline PV permitting processes, together with our commitment to extend annual funding under NY-Sun to 2023, will provide the industry with long-term certainty and attract significant private investment. Through NY-Sun, we will see continued growth of the clean energy economy and a healthier environment." Of the $13.5 million now available, $10 million will support efforts to lower the overall cost of non-module PV systems and $3.5 million will fund a two-year statewide effort to educate local officials and first responders. The $10 million, being equally funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York Power Authority (NYPA), will focus on projects that reduce PV balance-of-system (BOS) costs, which are all the upfront costs of the PV system except the module. BOS costs can account for more than half of total system costs, and include equipment and installation. The program will seek to maximize private leverage and demonstrate business models that could be adopted at scale by the marketplace. In addition, this program will advance streamlining the procedures for permitting and interconnection to reduce BOS costs. Projects will be selected on a competitive basis. Eligible projects under this offering will include: * Non-hardware projects that reduce the cost of PV systems by addressing and reducing soft costs, such as business costs, installation costs, and permitting and inspection costs. * Projects developing hardware that will lead to lower overall installed costs of PV systems and to successful commercialization of products manufactured in New York State. * Installation of PV systems to demonstrate new products or concepts in innovative applications.