New York community photovoltaic installations reach 1GW

    DSD Renewables' new 7.5MW community Solar Energy For Electricity solar project in Schenectady County, N.Y., has been cutting the ribbon for a much larger than typical project of its capacity, said Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin. Over 1GW of community solar installed and operating.

    According to the Institute for Local Self Reliance, the milestone overtook New York as the largest community solar market in the US, surpassing Minnesota, which had installed 830MW of operational community solar capacity as of February 2022.

    "Installing more than 1 gigawatt of community solar is a testament to New York's aggressive pursuit of clean energy alternatives that will strengthen our economy and bring us closer to a carbon-neutral future," said Governor Kathy Hocher.

    This dominance of the community solar market will only grow, as New York's distributed solar pipeline now consists of more than 708 community solar installations in an effort to achieve 70% of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and the Governor The achieved goal is to install 10GW of solar by 2030.

    Just as impressive as the community solar capacity installed in New York is the speed with which these projects are brought into operation. Before 2018, there was relatively little community solar development activity in New York City, according to installation data collected by SEIA.

    Much of the community solar developed in the state benefits from the state's NY-Sun program, a state solar incentive program for distributed generation assets. Since its launch in 2011, NY-Sun has invested more than $1.8 billion to drive solar scaling and bring New York State closer to having a sustainable, self-sufficient solar industry.

    Of note is the Schenectady 7.5MW Community Solar Project, a brownfield solar installation located on a former landfill in Glenville.

    The project, which also features 10 MWh of energy storage, is part of a portfolio of seven 25 MW projects realized in partnership with the Schenectady County Solar Alliance, which annually serves the municipalities and cities of Schenectady County Provides over $400,000 in energy savings and enables every city to be powered by 100% renewable energy.