​what can solar companies in new york offer you?

The landscape of renewable energy is changing. It is an environment of rapid change; of shifting power structures and new energy paradigms. More than anything, the advent of renewables has meant one thing for everyday people, the democratization of the grid. The days of top-down power supply and complete reliance on dirty fossil fuels is quickly coming to an end. The rise of wind and solar farms paired with a rapidly modernizing retail energy marketplace has given utility customers a power they haven't had ever in America's history; the power of choice. Solar companies in New York are helping re-balance the marketplace.

The solar market in New York State is changing rapidly, but the expanding amount of new options has left a great deal of the market confusing and convoluted. There are purchase and lease options for on-site solar projects. There are community solar projects left and right offering a wide range of power discounts. You can buy solar power directly from your utility, but typically that right comes at an increased cost.

When examining all the options in the marketplace, it's easy to feel lost. We're here to help make sense of the noise.

First... Lets Start with the most traditional type of project; on-site solar. Most solar companies in New York can help you with an on-site solar project. When installing solar at your home or business, you have two options; roof or ground-mounted systems. Roof systems tend to be the most expensive option, and are limited by your roof size, orientation, and shading. Ground-mounted systems are slightly cheaper and can be positioned in a location on your property that contains the highest solar resource. Ground systems can also be scaled up to meet your energy needs, and are not constrained by roof area, allowing you to offset all of your energy costs.

When purchasing roof and ground-mounted systems, folks have two options; solar purchases and solar leases.

Solar power purchase agreements (PPA) are leases that allow a home or business to sign long-term (20-25 year) contract with a solar company that installs panels at their home or business. The client pays for their power month to month, typically helping offset 10-15% of their overall costs annually. On-site solar leases generally are only available in areas where the utility costs are high, such as large metropolitan areas. In most of New York state, save the lower Hudson Valley and Long Island, solar leases are not available due to the already low cost of power. 

Off-site projects leverage the power of solar and the convenience of the existing grid to deliver substantial savings to your home or business.

With off-site solar projects, panels produce power which is transferred directly into the grid. That power generates energy credits that are directly applied to your utility bill. This method of generating discounts on your energy bills is often referred to as solar farming or community solar. Only a handful of solar companies in New York develop, own and operate solar farms; Renovus being one of them. If you want to learn more about the mechanics of community solar, check out Renovus' Guide to Community Solar.

Any home or business can access these solar projects, but there are several different avenues one can take when buying into a community solar farm. Similar to on-site solar, there are two primary means of accessing off-site projects; solar leases and solar purchases.

Solar farm purchases are a unique option in the market that gives you access to nearly all the benefits of an on-site solar project with very few drawbacks. Grants and incentives can help offset the up-front cost of your project, while loan terms help you save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on your utility costs over the guaranteed 25-year life of the system.

Due to their locations, off-site solar leases are generally more flexible than their on-site counterparts. Homes and businesses can sign long term PPAs that allow them to buy power directly from solar farms for 20-25 years at a 10-15% discount over utility costs. These agreements help customers lock in their utility rate and save money, mitigating financial risk immediately and potential risk tied to rising energy costs down the line.  

In addition to standard PPAs, customers in New York also have the option to opt into shorter-term agreements called solar subscriptions. These subscriptions allow customers to enter into year-to-year contracts with solar farms & buy their electricity at a 10% discount. These subscriptions are available to both residential and commercial customers. These contracts represent the lowest-risk, lowest-reward option in the marketplace, but give customers instant access to renewable energy at a very low cost.

Services like Spring by Renovus help customers connect with solar farms in their community. These tools can simplify the customer experience, making accessing a solar subscription easy. 

​At Renovus Solar, we stand in a unique position; we're the only solar company in New York that can offer a customer the full scope of options when choosing solar. We can install panels on your roof, or connect you with one of our purchase-model community projects. If you'd like to connect your home or business to a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) or subscription, we can help you navigate the marketplace to find the best deals on a local project near you. For the past 16 years, our goal has always been to make solar simple. By offering the full range of solar options available, we can help customers find the solution that best fits their needs.

Cheap renewable energy is more accessible than ever. Renovus is proud to be at the center of an energy revolution focused on you, the customer.