Community solar gaining ground in New York

Community solar continues to grow as an option for businesses — and residents — who want to use green energy and also generate savings along the way, solar-energy companies say. First allowed about a decade ago, community solar projects, also commonly called solar farms, have popped up on empty lots, on rooftops, and even on brownfield sites around the state, with each providing power to a minimum of 10 subscribers, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and giving each subscriber at least 1,000 kilowatt hours of power annually. Energy from the solar farm is fed into the electric grid, and customers receive credits on their monthly electric bill for their share of the energy. According to NYSERDA, there are more than 800 community solar projects currently operating around the state, and each project will last between 15 and 25 years. The advent of community solar has provided a real workable option for businesses interested in going green that lacked the space or the capital for an installation of their own, says Bruce Stewart of Perch Energy, a Boson–based solar subscription provider that works to connect subscribers to community solar. This includes two of the state’s new solar farms located in Brewerton and Scriba, which opened in February and last September, respectively. Instead of laying out a large investment to build a solar installation, a business can subscribe to a solar farm if it is within reach of one, Stewart says. “That’s a really powerful opportunity,” he says. “You don’t have to buy the car to get the ride.” Under this shared model, subscribers can save between 5 percent and 10 percent of their energy costs, on average, in the form of those bill credits, he adds. Some businesses may have the space for a solar installation, but don’t want the expense of constructing it or the hassle of managing it, Stewart says. Those businesses can partner with a community solar builder and reap multiple benefits including lease payments for the land, lower energy costs as a subscriber, and help the community when others subscribe and save on their own bills. Human Technologies Corporation in Utica is in the process of building a solar farm on land that it has owned, undeveloped, for several years. The nonprofit organization expects the project to come online later this year. Community solar can also be an option for farmers looking for an “alternative revenue crop,” Stewart says. “You’ll see a whole mix” of projects around the state, he says. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Community Solar Partnership, there was about 7.3 gigawatts of community solar in operation in 43 states and Washington, D.C. as of December 2023. More than 75 percent of the community solar market is concentrated in Florida, New York, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. “New York is probably the leader in the development of community solar,” Stewart contends. One of the biggest hurdles Perch must overcome is educating customers and prospects — both business and residential — on how community solar works and how it can benefit them. Typically, customers can start signing up about six months before a solar farm is set to open, he says. For many projects, Perch also maintains a waiting list of prospective customers interested in opting in if another customer opts out. Perch is currently working with community solar developers around the state, with new projects expected to come online in the near future in the Rochester, Ithaca, and Syracuse areas.