NYSEIA applauded the Assembly Energy Committee on its approval of the bill (S.7093a/A.11004) that the floor will vote on next week.
“The New York Solar Jobs and Development Act will jump start the state’s solar economy and create good-paying jobs with lasting security,” said NYSEIA President Ron Kamen, senior vice president of EarthKind Solar. “This small investment now will spur continuous investment and save costly needed future payments for foreign fuel sources.”
The association is pushing lawmakers to pass the bill to make solar a larger part of New York’s electricity generation that today represents less than 0.01 percent of the mix - and keep pace with neighboring states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
The legislation requires that each New York retail electric supplier, the New York Power Authority and the Long Island Power Authority, gradually increase the amount of solar energy produced, until they reach at least 2.5 percent of their sales by 2025. Scaled statewide, this would result in 5,000 MW of solar energy over the course of the program.
The bill also supports a broad diversity of business models, developers and system sizes so that industry growth can occur in all market segments, from small retail solar installations to large utility-scale wholesale solar power.
“This legislation provides the long-term market security necessary for business investment and workforce development,” said NYSEIA Executive Director Gail Markels. “It’s a transparent and achievable blueprint for strong market growth.”
NYSEIA is among a coalition of organizations supporting the bill’s passage, including Vote Solar, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Solar Alliance, the Apollo Alliance and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York. For information, visit http://www.nyseia.org
