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The New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced Tuesday that two gigawatts of solar capacity has been installed across the state, underscoring New York's position as one of the fastest growing distributed solar markets in the nation with a nearly 1,800 percent growth, leveraging $4 billion in private investment, fueling nearly 12,000 jobs since 2011 and decreasing the cost of solar by nearly 60 percent. Today's announcement represents one-third of the solar capacity needed to achieve the statewide target to install six gigawatts of solar by 2025 and supports Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's nation-leading Green New Deal, which calls for 70 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030.

"Solar is a vital part of New York's Green New Deal strategy to transition to a clean energy future and reduce emissions to combat one of the most pressing issues of our time–climate change," Governor Cuomo said. "The success of this initiative demonstrates we are on a path to meeting our nation-leading energy goals, and our climate agenda is spurring economic growth and leaving this planet cleaner and greener for generations to come."

"This installation of additional solar capacity advances our ambitious clean energy goals powering hundreds of thousands of homes," Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said. "We are committed to investing in affordable, innovative solutions that are creating jobs, reducing emissions, and combatting climate change." ​

NYSERDA President and CEO Alicia Barton said , "Governor Cuomo's NY-Sun initiative has made New York a national leader in distributed solar development and provided the support to make it an increasingly popular and affordable option for New Yorkers who want to lower their carbon footprint and energy bills. As we wrap up the end of the decade, today's two gigawatt milestone is the State's clean energy gift to all New Yorkers as we march towards Governor Cuomo's commitment to meet 70 percent of our statewide electricity needs with renewable energy by 2030."

The announcement was made yesterday by NYSERDA President and Chief Executive Officer Alicia Barton in Saratoga County at a festive ribbon-cutting ceremony for one of the largest completed community solar projects in upstate New York. Located on Pruyn Hill Road in Mechanicville, the 6.12-megawatt community solar project developed by ForeFront Power, LLC is fully subscribed and will provide clean electricity to more than 1,000 customers. The project known as ForeFront Power's Mechanicville Community Solar Project will produce more than seven million kilowatt-hours of solar energy annually, the equivalent of taking more than 800 cars off the road. The project received $2.3 million from NYSERDA through NY-Sun.

By enabling consumers to subscribe to the local community solar project, this project will increase access to solar for homeowners and renters who may not have ideal conditions to directly install solar panels onsite. Through the community solar arrangements, energy is still delivered by a customer's regular electric provider, and the power produced from the community solar array is fed directly back to the electric grid. As the grid is supplied with clean, renewable energy, subscribers receive credit on their electric bills for their portion of the community solar system. Currently, New York's community solar market is serving nearly 14,000 subscribers across the state.

The Mechanicville Community Solar Project contributes to the over 300 megawatts of community solar or distributed generation projects that have been supported by NY Green Bank with over $100 million in capital commitments since 2017. NY Green Bank, a State-sponsored finance entity is a division of NYSERDA, and has played a market-leading role in financing distributed solar in New York State.

The two gigawatts milestone being announced today consists of both state and private-sector supported solar projects.

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