Solar Power Grows More Than 300% in New York 2011-14

The growth of solar in New York State has increased more than 300 percent from 2011 to 2014, which is twice the rate of U.S. solar growth overall, according to state labor department officials.

“The Empire State is rapidly becoming a leader in clean energy technology, and that means greener and more sustainable communities for all New Yorkers,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a prepared statement. “Through the $1 billion NY-Sun Initiative, we’re making solar a reality in virtually every corner of the state and building a brighter future today. I am proud to see New York pulling well ahead of the national average for the growing solar industry, and look forward to seeing that momentum continue in the years to come.”

The $1 billion NY-Sun initiative is significantly expanding the use of solar throughout New York as it becomes a sustainable, subsidy-free industry already supporting thousands of jobs, Labor Department officials said.

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A total of 314.48 megawatts of solar electric was installed as of December 2014 across the state, equivalent to powering more than 51,000 homes.

The substantial growth is attributed to a combination of factors, including the NY-Sun initiative, decline in solar electric component prices, and growth in the number of installer businesses marketing solar electric directly to consumers.

“Reforming the Energy Vision is already working to increase access for more and more New Yorkers to realize the benefits of local, clean energy,” said Richard Kauffman, Chairman of Energy and Finance for New York. “New York State’s booming solar industry is driven by individual and community interest in cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy, and Reforming the Energy Vision and NY-Sun are making it easier for businesses to meet this growing demand.”

Solar capacity tripled, quadrupled or quintupled in every region of the state other than Long Island, which has more installations than any other region. In addition, numbers of projects at least doubled in every region.

In addition, as of May 2015, more than 304 MW of solar photovoltaic was under contract, not yet installed, with an additional 65.6 MW of applications accepted, not yet contracted.

Maps showing megawatts of solar capacity for counties in each region and a chart showing pre-NY-Sun versus post-NY-Sun figures can be found herenyserda.ny.gov/solarcapacity.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar energy is the fastest growing energy technology in the United States today.

In 2014, the governor made a commitment of nearly $1 billion to NY-Sun in order to significantly expand deployment of solar capacity throughout the state and transform New York’s solar industry to a sustainable, incentive-free sector.

“The growth of my PV installation company has been tremendous over the past seven years, and we have been nearly doubling or tripling our growth in sales and installation capacity every year over the past five years,” said Kevin Bailey, Owner, High Peaks Solar in Wynantskill. “Thanks to Governor Cuomo’s NY-Sun initiative, the price of photovoltaic technology, including solar modules and inverters, has been rapidly decreasing. This has led to increased access to more people and more work for installation companies like High Peaks Solar.”

Additional efforts under NY-Sun, such a Community Solar NY and K-Solar, are also helping homeowners, small businesses and schools throughout the State gain greater access to clean energy through economies of scale from soliciting bids for multiple projects at one time.

For more information on Reforming the Energy Vision, please visit http://www.ny.gov/REV4NY.