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.Final Report of the NYS RPS Annual Performance Report through December 31, 2015 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.

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 agreement, and not a feed-in tariff. LIPA owned the SRECs (which could be worth more than they were paying for the electricity).LIPA FIT New Jersey SRECs A bill to establish SRECs in New York failed to pass in 2012 .NY SREC market put on hold 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.Feed-in tariff proposal LIPA's total generation capacity, in 2011, was 6,800 MW.Questions as LIPA fails to use Edge program

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.

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.

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.

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.

New York's largest solar project, Morris Ridge Solar, came online in December 2024 with 229 MWdc/177 MWac.

Statistics

+Installed photovoltaics (MW)Year Total InstalledNew York Solar 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 2412016 937 1862017 1,038 1012018 1,073 35 (partial)2019 1,571 4982020 2,724.4 1,153.42021 3,380.6 656.22022 4,259 878.420235,5609372024861

+ Utility-scale solar generation in New York (GWh) Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 20116 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 201252 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 9820232,235611171732293142462652452241611267420243,128621812222543553583893433493101971082025261274409462497546588588494422324

Solar power in New York

Bron en licentie