Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced today that $46 million has been awarded for large-scale solar projects, adding 52 megawatts to the state’s solar capacity.
In addition to the $46 million the state is putting up, another $100 million will come in private investment, resulting in $146 million in infrastructure projects.
The money will be given to 28 recipients, who will fund 76 large-scale solar energy projects in 33 counties across the state. Installations will be located at businesses, factories, municipal buildings and other larger commercial and industrial companies, and are expected to be on line by the end of this year.
The award was part of Cuomo’s NY-Sun Competitive PV Program, an initiative that provides incentives for PV systems larger than 50 kilowatts. The program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), puts a maximum of $3 million into each project. The remainder is supposed to be funded by outside sources. Including today’s awards, a total of 242 megawatts of PV has been installed or is under development as part of NY-Sun.
“Governor Cuomo’s NY-Sun initiative has been the catalyst for the unprecedented growth of solar power in the state,” says NYSERDA CEO Francis Murray Jr.
Today’s awards were made under the program’s first round. Second round proposals have been received, while proposals for the third round are due the end of August.
With the cost of solar projects having declined significantly, the state does not have to offer as lucrative incentives. For instance, in 2011, when the program first launched, the portfolio-weighted average incentive awarded was $1.30 per Watt. Last year, that figure dropped to $0.93 per Watt. And today’s awards represent just $0.88 per Watt – some 30% less than what it cost to build these projects two years ago.
The solar developers or host sites that served as prime applicants receiving these awards consist of: Advanced Solar Products, Amberjack Solar, Carlisle Construction Materials, Community Energy Solar LLC, Constellation New Energy Inc., County Agency of NY LLC, Distributed Sun LLC, Dynamic Solar LLC, Energy Systems and Installations, EnterSolar LLC, Half Moon Ventures LLC, HelioSage Energy, HPP/Icetime LLC, Hudson Solar/Hudson Valley Clean Energy Inc., Jordan Energy and Food Enterprises LLC, LighthouseSolar, National Grid Energy Management, OnForce Solar, RER Energy Group, Sealing Devices Inc., SEC KC Solar One LLC, SEC Newco LLC, SoCore Solar NY Project LLC, SolarCity, Soltage VUL 1600 Chemung LLC, Spear Point Energy, Sun Edison Commercial Solutions LLC and Village of Wappinger Falls.
To read the NYSERDA press release, click here