Increases in Solar Power

The growth of solar power generation in New York State increased by more than 300 percent from 2011 to 2014, twice the national rate, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced this week. On Long Island, which has more solar installations than any other region in the state, megawatts of solar capacity increased by 154 percent over that span, with the number of solar installations rising by 122 percent.

Elsewhere in the state, solar capacity tripled, quadrupled, or quintupled in every region, while the number of projects at least doubled. The largest increase in percentage of megawatts was in the North Country, followed by the Finger Lakes, Central New York, and New York City.

A total of 314.48 megawatts of solar electric was installed statewide as of December 2014, equivalent to powering more than 51,000 homes. The growth is attributed to factors including the NY-Sun initiative, an effort to stimulate the marketplace to reduce costs associated with residential and commercial solar systems. As of May 2015, more than 304 megawatts of solar photovoltaic was under contract to be installed, with an additional 65.6 megawatts of applications accepted but not yet contracted.