New York Loves Distributed Solar, Targets 10 GW By 2030

By Prasanna Singh/ Updated On Wed, Dec 22nd, 2021

Highlights :

The New York plan, that will progress irrespective of the fate of the US president’s larger Build Back Better bill, is a strong example of how distributed efforts can also help achieve sustainability goals.

New York Loves Distributed Solar, Targets 10 GW By 2030

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New York state, which has embraced the need for change strongly in recent years, has set itself a target of 10 GW of solar from distributed projects for 2030, even as it looks set to achieve its goal of 6 GW by 2025. The original target was 3 GW by 2023. At the moment, over 90% of the 6 GW targeted capacity is in place or under construction. The state has a broader carbon free target for its grid by 2040.

The state, and its capital, New York City, have been in the news for regular announcements and moves linked to higher sustainability, the last of which was a move to ban gas pipelines at new builds. The latest plans would be under its NY-Sun Incentive Program.

The new plans, submitted by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) to the state Public Service Commission states that the 10 GW would enable clean energy for nearly 700,000 homes annually. The roadmap explores various options of setting incentive levels to achieve the 4 GW incremental target in the form of procurement structures, pricing models and funding mechanisms.

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The additional 4 GW has been broken up between 2.943 GW to come up in Upstate as commercial and industrial (C&I) projects, 150 MW each for residential, small projects and large projects in Con Edison electric service area, and 607 MW in Long Island and Upstate as unincentivized projects.

The recommendation is for at least 1.6 GW needs to be directed toward low to moderate income (LMI) residents, regulated affordable housing, disadvantaged communities (DAC) and environmental justice communities.

The total investment required for the additional 4 GW has been placed at $1.474 billion, in the form of subsidies and other support. Importantly, it should create 6000 jobs too. New York has a declared aim to increase the share of renewable energy to 70% in its electricity mix by 2030 with the overarching target being 100% emissions-free sources by 2040.