Solar power in New York
New York had a renewable portfolio standard of 30% from renewable sources by 2015. In 2015, 24% was renewable, 6% short of the goal. Wind is the predominant generating technology. [1] In 2018, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority awarded long-term contracts to 22 utility-scale solar farms, totaling a combined capacity of 646 MW.[2]
In 2012, LIPA adopted a power purchase agreement (limited to 50 MW), which paid $0.22/kWh for solar generation for installations ranging from 50 kW to 20 MW. A $500 to $5000 application fee favored larger power plants and represented roughly the first 10 days of generation for a 50 kW to 500 kW system, but less than 2 hours of generation for a 20 MW installation. The term of the agreement was 20 years, and systems had to be interconnected to the grid at the 13.2 kV level. Unlike the feed-in tariff programs in many other places, customers paid for their own electricity as if they were not generating any, making this actually a power purchase agreemen, and not a feed-in tariff. LIPA owned the SRECs (which could be worth more than they were paying for the electricity). [3][4] A bill to establish SRECs in New York failed to pass in 2012 .[5] 50 MW of solar power would meet the average needs of about 7,000 households, or less than 1% of the electricity supplied by LIPA. 5 MW was reserved for systems less than 150 kW, and 10 MW for systems from 150 to 500 kW. The remaining 35 MW was available to systems of all sizes. If fully subscribed in the first year, the average household would pay an estimated $0.44/month to pay for the program, which would generate an estimated 79.4 million kWh/year. Estimated costs were based on an average avoided cost rate of $0.075/kWh, although peak generation costs could exceed $0.22/kWh, eliminating any cost.[6] LIPA's total generation capacity, in 2011, was 6,800 MW.[7]
In 2023, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority approved 14 new large-scale solar projects, totaling more than 1 gigawatt of capacity.[8]
As of December 2025, solar power supplies electricity to approximately 1.27 million homes in New York, accounting for 6.56% of the state's total electricity generation.[9]
New York has one of the largest community solar program, with more than 1,700 MW installed, providing savings to more than 400,000 customers.[10]
New York remained the leading community solar market nationally in 2025, adding 624 MWdc of new capacity despite a 20% year-over-year decline, as cumulative U.S. community solar installations surpassed 10 GWdc for the first time.[11]
New York's largest solar project, Morris Ridge Solar, came online in December 2024 with 229 MWdc/177 MWac.[12]
Statistics
| Year | Total | Installed [13][14][15][16] |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 15.4 | |
| 2008 | 21.9 | 6.5 |
| 2009 | 33.9 | 12 |
| 2010 | 55.5 | 21.6 |
| 2011 | 123.8 | 68.3 |
| 2012 | 179.4 | 55.6 |
| 2013 | 240.5 | 61.1 |
| 2014 | 397 | 147 |
| 2015 | 638 | 241 |
| 2016 | 937 | 186 |
| 2017 | 1,038 | 101 |
| 2018 | 1,073 | 35 (partial)[17] |
| 2019 | 1,571 | 498 |
| 2020 | 2,724.4 | 1,153.4 |
| 2021 | 3,380.6 | 656.2 |
| 2022 | 4,259 | 878.4 |
| 2023 | 5,560 | 937 |
| 2024 | 861 |
| Year | Total | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2012 | 52 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 2013 | 53 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 2014 | 72 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 2015 | 101 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| 2016 | 139 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| 2017 | 182 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 11 | 12 | 9 |
| 2018 | 297 | 14 | 13 | 22 | 23 | 27 | 31 | 42 | 37 | 25 | 23 | 18 | 22 |
| 2019 | 524 | 25 | 31 | 46 | 43 | 49 | 54 | 65 | 60 | 52 | 39 | 37 | 23 |
| 2020 | 839 | 44 | 50 | 73 | 74 | 98 | 99 | 95 | 80 | 80 | 57 | 52 | 37 |
| 2021 | 1,159 | 63 | 47 | 111 | 115 | 128 | 128 | 116 | 111 | 110 | 88 | 84 | 58 |
| 2022 | 1,787 | 78 | 99 | 143 | 168 | 169 | 184 | 192 | 197 | 168 | 169 | 122 | 98 |
| 2023 | 2,235 | 61 | 117 | 173 | 229 | 314 | 246 | 265 | 245 | 224 | 161 | 126 | 74 |
| 2024 | 3,128 | 62 | 181 | 222 | 254 | 355 | 358 | 389 | 343 | 349 | 310 | 197 | 108 |
| 2025 | 261 | 274 | 409 | 462 | 497 | 546 | 588 | 588 | 494 | 422 | 324 |
See also
References
- ↑ Final Report of the NYS RPS Annual Performance Report through December 31, 2015
- ↑ "Governor Cuomo Announces Formal Request for New York Exclusion from Federal Offshore Drilling Program". Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. March 9, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
- ↑ LIPA FIT Archived 2012-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ New Jersey SRECs
- ↑ NY SREC market put on hold
- ↑ Feed-in tariff proposal
- ↑ Questions as LIPA fails to use Edge program
- ↑ "Governor Hochul Announces Nation's Largest-Ever State Investment in Renewable Energy is Moving Forward in New York | Governor Kathy Hochul". www.governor.ny.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- ↑ "2025 Renewable Energy Insights from the SEIA and Wood Mackenzie Report". PureSky Energy. March 31, 2026. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
- ↑ Howard, Hilary (January 30, 2025). "Community Solar Projects Make Renewable Energy More Accessible, and Trump May End Them". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
- ↑ "Solar Market Insight Report 2025 Year in Review". Solar Energy Industries Association. March 10, 2026. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
- ↑ "EDF Renewables North America Announces Commercial Operation of Morris Ridge Solar Project". EDF Renewables North America. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
- ↑ Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
- ↑ Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ↑ Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ↑ New York Solar
- ↑ "NY Solar Map". nysolarmap.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- ↑ "Electricity Data Browser". U.S. Department of Energy. March 28, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
External links
- New York City solar map
- New York Solar Energy Society
- Incentives and policies
- Long Island feed-in tariff (power purchase agreement)
- PV incentive program
