New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced what his office is calling the single largest commitment to renewable energy by a state in U.S. history March 9. The commitment, at US$1.4 billion, is to advance 26 large-scale renewable energy projects across the state.
The awarded projects include 22 solar farms, “demonstrating that large-scale solar power is now economically viable across New York State for the first time,” the announcement says. The projects advance the Clean Climate Careers initiative announced by Governor Cuomo in June 2017.
During the competitive selection process, bonus points were awarded to renewable energy projects that demonstrated a commitment to the creation of good local jobs and the use of locally-manufactured components and content. The rigorous, two-step review process also included non-price criteria to evaluate the applications.
Other projects include three wind farms and one hydroelectric project. One of the wind farms features an energy storage component, marking the first time a large-scale renewable energy project has done so in New York State. Several projects will break ground as early as April 2018 and all projects are expected to be operational by 2022, adding over 1,380 megawatts of capacity.
Building on the momentum of these project awards, NYSERDA will issue the next solicitation for large-scale renewable energy under the Clean Energy Standard on April 25. And to help meet the Governor’s commitment to deploying 1500 MW of energy storage by 2025, NYSERDA will seek to encourage proposals that cost-effectively pair renewable energy with advanced energy storage technologies.