Building the Grassroots Groundwork for

A New York Solar Initiative.

Beginning on July 4th, I Heart PV will help lead a statewide effort to make New York State a national leader in solar adoption and development. Be a part of the effort!

THE NEW YORK SOLAR INITIATIVE: A BLUEPRINT TO MOVE SOLAR INTO THE MAINSTREAM.

New York State’s large population, ample sunlight, progressive values, high electricity costs and dynamic base of hi-tech and research and development industries place it in a strong position to become a national leader in solar photovoltaic adoption and industrial development. However, the state currently lacks a longterm policy blueprint that would effectively establish its leadership in the emerging clean energy economy.

Recent legislative victories in the New York State Legislature have delivered both expanded net metering for large commercial and industrial properties, as well as a special property tax abatement for owners of solar systems in New York City. These positive steps forward will spur solar growth rates in the short term, and help open the door for more in-state solar power capacity and business development.

However, moving solar into the mainstream, making it cost-competitive with conventional electricity sources, and establishing a robust solar industry here in New York will only occur if strong, sustained incentives are introduced. States such as California, Maryland, Colorado and New Jersey have or are in the process of advancing different versions of such a blueprint, but New York has not. As a result, the state’s natural competitive advantages remain under-exploited, while other regions are taking the lead.

To help bring the Empire State to the forefront of solar implementation, this summer I Heart PV is launching the New York Solar Initiative campaign. This new effort aims to build public and political support for an extensive, 10-year rebate initiative that would:

1. Scale the state’s solar capacity up to 2000 megawatts from a current level of approximately 15megawatts. Solar would then constitute 5% of New York’s electricity supply. Today it contributes a mere .01%.

2. Establish New York as a national center for solar business, industry and research and development.

3. Make solar cost-competitive with conventional electricity sources within a decade.

A TEN-YEAR REBATE INITIATIVE

Such a rebate initiative would augment and expand the state’s existing program. Rebates would help buy down the upfront cost of solar for would-be owners of various property types and sizes. As the overall amount of solar installed throughout the state increased, the market price would continue to drop, as has been the trend internationally. As costs dropped, so too would the size of the rebates. At the end of the ten-year period, rebates would be discontinued as the price of solar would have reached or exceeded cost-competitiveness with conventional fossil fuel and nuclear sources of electricity.

In order to bring about such a dramatic increase in solar capacity in New York State, the resources to fund the rebate program must be sufficiently large and made available for a sustained period of time. Funds would be raised through the addition of a special ratepayer fee added to monthly electricity bills. To create a pool of resources that would be adequate to reach the New York Solar Initiative’s ten-year goal, it is estimated that the total cost per individual ratepayer would not exceed $10 per year.

REALIZING THE NEW YORK SOLAR INITIATIVE

Realizing the New York Solar Initiative will require action from the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), the state authority empowered to regulate the electricity market and also raise and disperse funds in support of renewable energy development in New York. Currently the PSC provides rebate funding for solar systems through the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS), which is a legislated commitment for the state to produce 25% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2013. The current funding is rapidly expiring due to the escalating popularity of solar power in an era of skyrocketing energy costs and rising concern for energy-related environmental impacts, such as climate change.

As a result, the New York is entering a critical decision-making period in regard to the future of solar policy, it’s operation and scope. Therefore, right now is an important moment for New Yorkers to signal their support for the goals embodied in the New York Solar Initiative.

On July 4th, Independence Day, I Heart PV will launch a new campaign to organize New Yorkers in support of the New York Solar Initiative. While such a plan will require the support of statewide political leadership, the initial focus will be on generating citizen feedback to the Public Service Commission. Tools for contacting and communicating with key executives of the PSC will be posted on this website on July 4th.

VICTORY!

EXPANDED NET METERING and the NEW YORK CITY SOLAR PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT both passed in the State Assembly during this last week of the legislative session. The ABATEMENT passed on Tuesday June 17, and NET METERING on June 19th.

This is a big victory for solar in New York State and City. Both policies, to be brought into force over the next 6 months, will help make clean energy investments more economical in the short-term, and ultimately cost-competitive with conventional sources in the next 5-10 years.

For all of you who called and wrote letters to your legislators over the past two months, thank you and congratulations! Your efforts and hard work paid off.

These victories are not the end of our work, but the beginning. With these two goals now fulfilled, the I Heart PV campaign, in partnership with a coalition of other advocacy groups and individuals throughout New York, will begin to lay the groundwork for bolder statewide solar goals, including a ‘million solar roof’ program for New York, modeled on California’s existing initiative. Stay tuned for further details . . . .

I Heart PV would like to thank the many groups that led the effort to achieve expanded net metering and the NYCSPTA. I was a pleasure working and learning from them:

The Mayor’s Office of Longterm Planning and Sustainability, ACE New York, the Campaign for New York’s Future, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Environmental Defense, New York League of Conservation Voters, NYSEIA, NYIRN, Sierra Club, the Solar Alliance, Vote Solar (big shout out to Shaun Chapman), and many more.

PV is short for Photovoltaics, an advanced technology that converts solar energy into electricity. If New York adopts the right supportive policies today, PV will play an increasingly significant role in meeting our growing energy demand and addressing a number of our most chronic environmental and quality of life challenges.

I Heart PV is a citizen-led, grassroots advocacy campaign that seeks to drive legislative and regulatory support for the development of clean, renewable photovoltaic power in the world’s greatest city and throughout the Empire State.