Long Island ratepayers, communities and institutions have long wanted and deserved to access and generate their own clean energy. The Community Solar model allows them to do exactly that. However, without a compensation level that results in financially viable projects, Community Solar will simply not get off the ground on Long Island, and hundreds of thousands of residents and local organizations will be prevented from accessing clean energy; moreover, the overall solar market on Long Island and associated job growth from this sector will continue stagnating counter to the rest of the state and the nation.

For these reasons, we, the below signatories, advocate for the following tariff amendments relating to compensation for Community Solar systems in Long Island:

1. Increasing the Community Credit in Long Island to be brought to a fair level from the current 2.25 cents to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour.

2. Allowing Community Solar systems sized under 750 kilowatts the option to continue with net energy metering (NEM)-based compensation, as is currently the case for the commercial segment.