New York State is making solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses, and communities. Through NY-Sun, New York's initiative to advance the scale-up of solar, we are on track to install 6 GW by 2025. Contact online >>
New York State is making solar energy more accessible to homes, businesses, and communities. Through NY-Sun, New York''s initiative to advance the scale-up of solar, we are on track to install 6 GW by 2025.
The purpose of Doing Solar Business in New York is to help guide the development of solar and eliminate barriers for new contractors and builders. It provides a high-level overview of the requirements and process for developing solar in New York State and highlights resources offered by NY-Sun.
NY-Sun offers incentives based on the type of solar project and its location in New York State. Projects can be installed on the roof (roof mounted) or ground (ground mounted). For more information on available incentives, visit the Available Incentives section below.
On-site projects may be residential, nonresidential, or commercial/industrial installations. These projects are connected to a customer utility account and serve an on-site load. They may also be installed at a new or existing site. For energy injected into the grid, projects under 750 kW AC will receive compensation under Net Energy Metering (NEM) and larger projects will receive the Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) or the Value Stack, a new mechanism to compensate distributed energy resources (for more information, visit the Utility Crediting/Compensation section below).
A single remote metered project can provide bill credits to one or more remote sites to offset their electric bill. In other words, the energy produced by a remote metered project can be credited to one or more customer utility accounts. This type of installation receives compensation under the Value Stack. For remote metered and community solar projects, the “host site” and all offtakers (customers receiving the bill credits from a DER) must be located in the same utility service territory.
A community solar project is a single large installation that serves multiple offtakers, which may be residential or commercial. NY-Sun depends on contractors and builders to construct community solar projects throughout the State.
It is important to note that a community solar project must provide remote bill savings to 10 or more offtakers, each of which must receive at least 1,000 kWh per year. Community solar projects may have fewer than 10 offtakers if the project is located on a multifamily building and is serving its tenants. Additionally, no more than 40% of the project output can be dedicated to large offtakers (those with a demand charge on their electric bill). Community solar projects may be eligible for additional incentives like the Community Credit or Community Adder.
In accordance with the New York Municipal Home Rule Law, every local government in New York State has the power to adopt and amend local laws relating to property, affairs, and government. There are 1,607 municipalities in the State and most have different requirements. Contractors and builders must work directly with the municipality they are conducting business in to meet their permitting, code, and licensing requirements.
Step 1: Identify the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) and check their permitting, code, and licensing requirements.
Step 3: The appropriate AHJ will issue permits and be the lead agency in the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR), if applicable.
Step 4: Local code officials will require an inspection after construction to ensure that projects meet all necessary building codes.
To reduce costs and delays associated with permitting solar projects, NYSERDA and the New York State Department of State developed the New York State Unified Solar Permit. The permit applies to small residential projects 25 kW DC and under. Local governments can pass legislation to adopt the Unified Solar Permit in their jurisdiction. To date, over 300 AHJs have adopted the permit.
Contact the AHJ to determine if that jurisdiction uses the Unified Solar Permit. For more information, including more about the permit and the benefits communities and contractors can expect to receive, visit NYSERDA’s Unified Solar Permit page.
Since siting solar projects sits at the local level, NYSERDA developed the Model Solar Energy Local Law (Model Law) to assist local governments and officials in examining and adopting their own local laws, regulations, and policies. The Model Law serves as a resource to inform local officials on the processes of installing, operating, maintaining and decommissioning solar energy systems in their respective jurisdictions. Note, NYSERDA does not set these policies. For more information, including the Model Law and FAQs, visit the Model Solar Energy Local Law section of the New York State Solar Guidebook.
For contractors that participate in the NY-Sun program, regardless of location in the State, the program requires that all participating contractors and their projects abide to the New York State Uniform Codes adopted by the New York State Department of State.
New York State does not have a statewide solar license or licensing requirement. Some authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) will require that contractors have an electrical or home improvement license. In most cases, AHJs will allow reciprocal agreements, meaning they will recognize licenses from other jurisdictions. New York City is an exception and does not allow reciprocal agreements. Contact the AHJ for details on their requirements.
The New York State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) requires all State and local government agencies to consider the environmental impacts and social and economic factors of certain solar projects. SEQR provides a systematic process to identify and consider environmental factors early in the planning of an action, allowing the opportunity to modify projects to avoid adverse impacts. SEQR is required for projects with a footprint over 10 acres or over 2.5 acres in agricultural districts. If a SEQR is required, contractors must prepare an Environmental Assessment Form (EAF).
For more information, including a SEQR process flow chart, visit the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) for Solar section of the New York State Solar Guidebook.
As the clean energy transition unfolds, it is important to adopt a balanced approach that adequately preserves agricultural land. Certain New York State policies apply when developing solar on agricultural land. For example, a conversion penalty is imposed for sites located in Agricultural Districts that are converted to a nonagricultural use within five years of the last agricultural assessment (or eight years if the farmland is located outside an Agricultural District).
Also, projects sited in State Certified Agricultural Districts that are applying for NYSERDA incentives will be subject to Agriculture and Markets Law (AML) Section 305(4). AML Section 305(4) requires, in part, that any state agency, public benefit corporation, or local government which intends to advance public funds for the construction of a commercial facility to serve non-farm structures in an Agricultural District must file a Notice of Intent[PDF]with the Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets and with the County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board.
Furthermore, projects submitted to the Commercial/Industrial Program that are in an Agricultural District will be required to meet the New York State Agriculture and Markets (NYSAGM)’s Guidelines for Solar Energy Projects – Construction Mitigation for Agricultural Lands[PDF]. Projects that submit an interconnection application after November 1, 2020, and that are on over 30 acres of mineral soil group 1-4, are required to make a Mitigation Fund Payment [PDF]. NY-Sun developed a tool for these projects to estimate their mitigation payment [XLSX].
Additionally, municipalities in the State commonly utilize special use permits and site plan regulations to accommodate solar on agricultural land. For more information on these two common land-use tools, visit the Using Special Use Permits and Site Plan Regulations to Allow Large-Scale Solar Installations While Protecting Farmland section of the New York State Solar Guidebook.
To receive incentives through NY-Sun, it is required that all rooftop solar installations be reviewed and stamped by a New York State Professional Engineer (PE) or a New York State Registered Architect (RA). Rooftop solar energy systems are classified as a Type II action and do not require a SEQR. For more information, visit the System Technical Requirements section of the NY-Sun Program Manual.
As a NY-Sun participating contractor, the program identifies specific technical requirements for things such as solar modules, inverters, and metering. For more information, visit the System Technical Requirements section of the NY-Sun Program Manual.
There are State and utility requirements for interconnecting solar energy systems to the grid. The New York State Standardized Interconnection Requirements (SIR) was created by the Public Service Commission (PSC) to explain the process and information required for submitting interconnection applications to utilities.
It is important to understand the technical requirements and electric service regulations of the utility in which you are doing business. Check with the appropriate utility to verify their interconnection requirements.
For more information, including the SIR document, visit the Department of Public Service''s (DPS) website.
The Coordinated Electric System Interconnection Review (CESIR) is a comprehensive engineering study to understand a project’s impact to the utility system and determine what construction upgrades, if any, will be required. CESIR is often required for larger systems (50 kW to multi-MW). If a CESIR is required, the review will occur after an interconnection application has been submitted to the utility. There are multiple fees associated with the review. For more information, please check with the appropriate utility.
DPS maintains ombudsman contact lists. Each utility has a dedicated ombudsman (also known as an ombudsperson) whose role is to act as a resource between distributed generation providers and the utility.
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