Solar Power at 80% Off!

In a "do-as-I-do, not-just-as-I-say" move, New York State is finally getting serious about its own commitment to expanding renewable energy sources. Governor Cuomo’s predecessor had committed New York State to an aggressive goal of obtaining 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015. This goal is officially called our Renewable Portfolio Standard.

The good news is that we are over halfway there. About 17% of the state‘s total electricity generation came from renewable sources in 2010. But, 90% of New York’s renewable energy today comes from hydro-electric power stations. This waterpower source will not expand any time soon.

Any meaningful attempt to increase renewable, non-fossil power generation to 30% of our needs by 2015 must accelerate the installation of non-hydro renewables–such as solar, biogas, geothermal, and wind.

Up to now, the state’s existing solar electric incentives targeted smaller installations for residential or small commercial buildings—with solar systems capped at 50 kilowatts.

To get to 30% renewable energy state-wide by 2015, we will need much larger incentives for much larger renewable power plant systems.

The good news is that in 2011 New York State will devote $30 million in funding incentives for customer-sited photovoltaic (PV, a.k.a. solar electric) and biogas electricity generators larger than 50 kilowatts located in and around the New York City metro area—where electricity is most in demand.

In a nutshell, this robust, new incentive package can cut the payback period for solar in half—to just a few years.  Together with federal tax incentives, this new state package could reduce the out-of-pocket cost for a large solar system by 80% for a building owner. That should be music to the ears of owners of large commercial buildings with acres of sunny rooftops.