NY Offers More Cash for Long Island Solar Installations
getsolar.com
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority(NYSERDA) will make available a $6 million grant to the Long IslandPower Authority (LIPA), according to a recent announcement by GovernorDavid A. Paterson.
The new funding will enable LIPA to continueprograms that provide rebates and incentives to homeowners and businessowners who install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. LIPA’s SolarPioneer/Entrepreneur program provides a per-watt rebate to reduce thecost of solar panels, enabling many individuals and businesses toachieve a positive return on investment with their solar installations.
“The funding provided today will help LIPA continue a model programthat has played a critical role in increasing the presence of clean,renewable solar power on Long Island,” Governor Paterson noted. “Theincreased use of photovoltaic panels will help fuel New York’s growingclean energy economy. It builds on the energy expertise working out ofLong Island’s academic institutions and creates the new economy jobsNew Yorkers need.”
In November, LIPA announced plansto limit the dollar amount any one solar project could receive.Regardless, the rebate program remains one of the most robust in thecountry: for the second straight year, LIPA was in 2009 named among thenation’s most solar-integrated utilities by the Solar Electric Power Association,a Washington D.C.-based industry group comprised of electric utilities.To date, LIPA has granted more than $54 million in rebates to 2,300residential rooftop solar installations, 65 commercial installations,and 48 PV systems installed at non-profit and government buildings.Together, these projects represent 13.5 megawatts (mWs) of installedsolar capacity.
