In the solar industry, we talk about the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) a lot. NYS is one of the most progressive states in the country when it comes to enabling the growth and sustainability of renewable energy infrastructure, and NYSERDA’s programming is a significant reason why. NYSERDA is an essential tool to helping families and businesses all across NYS have access to clean, affordable solar power.
Their vision statement is, in short, “Serve as a catalyst – advancing energy innovation, technology, and investment.” The office distributes funds to various energy-related grant programs, including the NY Sun solar initiative.
The NY Sun program provides incentives and financing to make solar-generated electricity accessible and affordable for all NY homeowners, renters, and businesses. Additionally, NY SUN runs program components, including training for installers and public officials, standardizing permitting processes, and educating consumers. The program has been an astounding catalyst for the NY solar industry, helping to create hundreds of Megawatts of commercial and residential solar installations and tens of thousands of jobs. NYSERDA distributes a solar rebate to any new community solar or on-site solar installations on a per-watt basis.
The average Renovus customer wants to offset energy bills in the ballpark of $100 a month. To offset those bills, the household in question would use a 7.2 kW solar system. That’s 7,200 watts of solar power, times 35 cents per watt, amounting to around $2,520 in NYSERDA funding. All-in-all, that amounts to about 11.5% off the sticker price of a system.
Rates are slightly higher for commercial systems, at 45 cents per watt up to 750kW in size and 25 cents per watt from 750kW onward.
While these grants are hugely important to making solar more affordable, NYSERDA is more than just a financial catalyst. Their training, lobbying, and research help push the envelope and propel NY’s energy future.
NYSERDA is funded through the NY REV (Reforming the Energy Vision) initiative established by Governor Cuomo. Save an additional cash injection. The program’s initial seed funding will expire by 2025 at the latest. Businesses and homeowners only have two years to leverage the full suite of state and local tax incentives and NYSERDA funding to get the lowest system costs available.