In his State of the State address this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a substantial increase to renewable energy development for New York, including funding to the tune of $1 billion for solar power projects over ten years.
The increased funding will go towards 3,000 megawatts of new solar power throughout the state; that’s in addition to the 300 megawatts of solar PV (solar panels) capacity already installed, and soon to be installed, Think Progress has reported.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the intended amount of solar capacity is enough to power 456,000 New York homes, and cut greenhouse gases by 2.3 million tons per year. It will also create over 13,000 new solar jobs.
Additionally, the Governor announced another new scheme to incentivize the development of solar energy, called K-Solar. New York’s 5,000 schools will act as demonstration hubs to help encourage new solar energy projects in each community.
The state of New York is currently ranked 12th in the United States for installed solar capacity, so this new funding could lift that ranking. It’s great that New York is starting to show some real leadership in the area of renewable energy development, as other states and cities around the country, and indeed around the world, are likely to follow New York’s lead.
Image CC licensed by Evan O’Neil: Worksman Cycles used incentives from New York City and state as well as the federal goverment to install a solar array on the roof of its factory.
Via Think Progress
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