An overview of New York’s distributed solar industry, state developments, and NYSEIA’s 2025 Policy Priorities presented in our Solar Industry Briefing Webinar.
On February 6th, 2025, the New York Solar Industries Association (NYSEIA) held a free, open to the public, virtual New York State Solar Industry Briefing & 2025 Policy Priorities Webinar.
Registrants attended a 1-hour long presentation comprising two main parts: market trends of New York’s distributed solar industry; and policy developments and priorities of our industry.
New York’s Distributed Solar Industry
The rooftop and community (“distributed”) solar industry is the State’s most successful clean energy sector. In addition to achieving New York’s distributed solar goal more than a year ahead of schedule, the solar industry employs approximately 15,490 workers across hundreds of companies and has invested $10 billion to deploy 242,056 solar projects across the state with a combined total capacity over 6.5 gigawatts.
The industry brings major economic and environmental benefits to the state and its residents. For New York residents, utility bill savings and the industry’s 15,490 family-sustaining jobs directly support communities throughout the State while providing revenue to landowners and municipalities. Distributed solar also reduces air pollution, effectively utilizes limited land resources, and provides the lowest-cost pathway towards achieving New York’s clean energy mandates.
New York’s CLCPA (“Climate Act”) enacted in 2019 mandates that New York deploy renewable energy to become 70% renewable by 2030 and 100% in 2040. It also codified a distributed solar goal of 6 gigawatts by 2025 and 10 by 2030.
Last year was record breaking for our industry: as of October of 2024, New York surpassed its original 6 gigawatt goal more than a year ahead of schedule. In 2024 alone, New York installed 1.24 gigawatts of distributed solar, 40% more than any year prior. New York commissioned a record amount of new distributed solar capacity in December 2024, 333,047 kilowatts total. The 10 gigawatt (2030) goal is set to be achieved both ahead of schedule and under its original budget.
Despite this momentum, New York’s solar industry faces significant near-term challenges, including rising utility interconnection costs, restrictive local laws and other siting constraints, declining incentives, and high interest rates. In 2024, new solar development declined to the lowest level since 2018; an alarming trend that foreshadows a similar decline in deployment.
On the residential side, solar deployment decreased 20% from 2023 to 2024. This decrease in residential installations is due to several factors, including high interest rates, inflation, and decreasing incentives, each dampening customer demand. Energy storage attachment rates remain low in New York as well, hovering just below 5% statewide.
Orange & Rockland had the highest energy storage attachment rate last year, 26%, due to the utility’s Virtual Power Plant pilot program with Sunrun. Con Edison’s attachment rate was the lowest in the state at 1%, attributable to New York City’s de facto ban against safe residential energy storage systems.
For community and industrial solar + storage (C&I) projects, deployment in 2024 increased to approximately one gigawatt, while new development dropped precipitously. The decline in new development is attributable to rapidly rising utility interconnection costs, declining NYSERDA incentives (with the phasing out of the Community Adder), and siting challenges from restrictive local laws, moratoria, and expanded DEC regulations. These barriers are eliminating gigawatts of otherwise viable sites.
Distributed Solar + Storage Industry: Current Events and New Developments
Over the last year there were many notable developments in New York’s solar and energy storage market– some good and some bad. These are accompanied by uncertainties with the new federal administration.
In July 2024, NYSERDA filed their Biennial Review of the Clean Energy Standard, an analysis which found that New York will be 42,145 GWh short of the 70% renewable energy mandate by 2030, and projecting this goal could be met by 2033. Distributed solar deployment is the only resource being deployed ahead of schedule, which is why NYSEIA released 20 Gigawatts by 2035: Raising New York’s Distributed Solar Goal, a policy roadmap that outlines strategies for New York to cost-effectively accelerate distributed solar deployment and help New York close our renewable electricity supply gap. Meanwhile, NYSERDA and DPS filed a proposal to continue the successful NY-Sun solar incentive program; a proposal that awaits action from the Public Service Commission as the program runs dangerously low on available capacity.
Other key developments include:
Recent amendments to the Department of Environmental Conservation’s jurisdiction over freshwater wetlands have constrained solar development since they went into effect on January 1st.
Rising interconnection costs are making it less affordable to deploy solar and energy storage projects.
Restrictive permitting from local jurisdictions are preventing otherwise viable projects.
While last year was New York’s best year in terms of community solar deployment, new development is way down, and residential installations decreased last year.
Potential federal headwinds may worsen near-term issues in the coming years. State-level action has never been more important.
In Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2025 State of the State address, she outlined her policy priorities for the upcoming year and thereafter presented her Executive Budget proposal– neither of which included policies supporting solar and energy storage.
NYSEIA issued a public statement in response to this. It is clear that the Governor’s priorities– including advancing affordability and climate action– align well with our industry’s goal to deploy more cost-effective solar power. Our advocacy efforts are now focused on the State Legislature, the Public Service Commission and the relevant state agencies.
NYSEIA 2025 Policy Priorities
Many of NYSEIA’s 2025 Policy Priorities were presented in-depth during the webinar. At the top of the section is our proposal to raise New York’s distributed solar goal to 20 gigawatts by 2035. We released a policy roadmap in June 2024 to guide the next phase of New York’s clean energy transition. Enacting many of the high-impact policy initiatives in the roadmap will result in lower costs and deliver tremendous benefits for New Yorkers.
NYSEIA is also taking action with National SEIA to protect clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. Bolstering support for solar tax incentives among Republican members will help protect a longstanding federal tax incentive that is critical to our industry’s success. Securing just a few members to oppose repealing these credits from the Inflation Reduction Act is crucial.
Community solar siting reform, interconnection reform, rate design improvements, residential tax credit modernization, and energy storage incentives are also crucial to the health of our industry. We are continuing to work with legislators and state agencies to address pressing issues while advancing a long-term plan to secure our industry’s future.
Find highlights of the presentation below. View the full presentation here.
For even more information about NYSEIA’s policy work and policy priorities, visit our policy documents page www.nyseia.org/policy.
Thank you to everyone who attended, we look forward to continuing our work to lead the state toward a brighter, solar-powered future.
