Hochul wants NY-Sun program expanded

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday said she is seeking to expand the NY-Sun program to reach a goal of at least 10 gigawatts of distributed solar installed by 2030.

NY-Sun is New York’s $1.8 billion initiative to advance the scale-up of solar and “move the State closer to having a sustainable, self-sufficient solar industry,” the governor’s office said in a release.

Hochul called on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and New York State Department of Public Service to “develop a distributed solar roadmap to be issued this fall to chart a path to advance” an expanded NY-Sun goal of at least 10 gigawatts by 2030 in a “resilient, cost effective and responsible manner.”

The projects resulting from the expanded goal are expected to power nearly 1.7 million homes.

The roadmap would ensure projects are developed and sited in a manner that “fully considers” land use and are “advanced in close collaboration” with local stakeholders and agricultural communities. Once the roadmap is filed with the Public Service Commission, it will be issued for public comment and subsequent decision-making in early 2022.

Hochul made the announcement on the first day of Climate Week 2021, her office noted.

Hochul also contends that expanding the program would help bolster the state’s economic recovery following COVID-19 with the creation of an additional 6,000 solar jobs beyond the 12,000 that currently exist statewide.

The program expansion would also deliver at least 35 percent of the benefits from the investments to “disadvantaged” communities and low-to moderate- income New Yorkers. The governor says increasing solar-energy capacity statewide will help the state reach its goal for 70 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030 on the path to a zero-emission grid.