New York Hits 4-GW Distributed Solar Power Milestone

As part of Climate Week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that four gigawatts of distributed solar—community, residential, small commercial and industrial projects—have been installed across the state. She said that this is enough to power more than 710,000 homes.

She held that since the launch of the NY-Sun initiative in 2012, the cost of solar in New York has declined by 70 percent as solar deployment has grown nearly 2,900 percent state-wide. This has helped to drive $6.4 billion in private investment and foster more than 12,000 jobs across New York.

The official statement says that when combined with the projects that are under development and moving toward commercial operation, the 4-GW achievement puts New York on track to exceed its goal to install 6-GW of distributed solar by 2025. New York also aims to realize 10-GW by the end of this decade.

Governor Hochul said, “This achievement is a testament to our successful partnership with communities and industry alike to get these projects built in every corner of the state and ensures more families and businesses will benefit from clean affordable solar power for years to come. I am proud to make today’s announcement from the Javits Center, which is now home to Manhattan’s largest single-rooftop solar array with an accompanying battery storage system and is setting an example for other urban commercial buildings of how to be on the cutting-edge of our clean energy future.”

The state administration said that more than 1,200 MW of solar capacity has been installed through the first half of 2022 in New York.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Doreen M. Harris added, “The State’s successful NY-Sun initiative has already positioned New York as the top community solar market in the nation and now is revving up our progress to meet our 2025 solar goal ahead of schedule, putting us on pace to achieve ten gigawatts by 2030. NYSERDA looks forward to building upon this milestone to advance solar projects of all sizes that help to lower greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality and bring down electricity bills for all New Yorkers.”