The US State of New York has proposed to expand its distributed solar power capacity by 2030 to a total of 10 GW under its NY-Sun program, as nearly 93% of the existing target of 6 GW is either completed or at an advanced stage of development.
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, the proposed 10 GW target roadmap builds on the previous target of 3 GW distributed solar capacity by 2023 the state was planning earlier which was later increased to 6 GW by 2025 (see New York Calls For 6 GW Distributed Solar By 2025).
This 10 GW would enable clean energy for nearly 700,000 homes annually, according to the state Governor Kathy Hochul opened the roadmap for the same for public comments. 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.
It would be divided as 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.
Of the total 4 GW, 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 4 GW incremental capacity is expected to be realized for an investment of $1.474 billion. According to the roadmap, the incremental capacity will bring bill savings for around 127,000 new solar customers and off-takers while creating close to 6,000 jobs.
In addition, the proposed roadmap also seeks to establish a new requirement for workers associated with the construction of over 1 MW capacity projects under NY-Sun program to be paid applicable prevailing wage.
The proposed roadmap is available on the website of DPS.
New York aims 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.