December 10, 2021
A recent report published by Vibrant Clean Energy has highlighted the role that distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar could play in decarbonizing the New York State energy grid. The report, entitled ‘Decarbonizing New York Through Optimizing Distributed Resources’, was commissioned by the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), Vote Solar, and Local Solar For All.
Decarbonizing New York Through Optimizing Distributed Resources: Key Takeaways
The key findings of the report identify the potential of solar and storage in decarbonizing the energy grid across the state of New York, saving the taxpayer money, and supporting disadvantaged communities.
A focus on accelerating the growth of local solar + battery storage could save New York over $28 billion by 2050—compared to a scenario where CLCPA goals are achieved without a focus on distributed energy.
The least-cost approach to the energy transition would involve the construction of more than 60% of rooftop solar and nearly 30% of battery storage in disadvantaged communities statewide.
This least-cost approach to achieving CLCPA goals includes roughly 50% of NY electricity capacity coming from solar, with almost 22 GW from rooftop and community solar, and another 84 GW from utility-scale solar.
Additionally, optimizing the clean energy transition for DERs would enable the deployment of over 17 GW of distributed battery storage throughout New York State.
Sustained growth in both local solar and storage across NY would create over 160,000 local solar jobs by 2050.
New York Local Solar Roadmap: How Local Solar Can Save New York Money and Create a More Just and Equitable Grid
The New York Local Solar Roadmap lays out the findings from the report and shows how NY can save money while creating a more equitable energy grid. The Roadmap pits conventional thinking on the clean energy transition against a paradigm shift which focuses on ramping up DERs.
Conventional Thinking
Focuses on large central power plants as the most cost-effective option for the future of energy in NY.
Holds the belief that utility scale is the cheapest & quickest way to meet clean energy goals.
Regards local solar + storage as too expensive and not fair & beneficial for all New Yorkers.
Paradigm Shift
Embracing new, improved models which challenge the conventional thought process outlined above.
Understanding that scaling both utility-scale renewables and local solar + storage will lead to savings for ratepayers.
Aware that the CLCPA emphasis on DERs was a good starting point, and that the new models show further deployment of DERs offers the best path to meeting CLCPA goals.
How Can New York Most Cost-Effectively Meet Its Power Decarbonization Goals?
The answer to this question is outlined in the New York Local Solar Roadmap, which is available to read in full here. The key finding is that the least-cost path to meeting CLCPA goals requires New York to outpace current mandates for distributed solar and storage. This least-cost path involves:
11.4 GW of local solar by 2030 and nearly 22 GW by 2050.
4.8 GW of distributed paired storage by 2030 and more than 17 GW by 2050.
Resources deployed in disadvantaged communities across New York.
Do you want to go solar in New York? Reach out to YSG Solar today. YSG has been operating in the solar industry for over a decade, working on everything from small rooftop projects to large-scale solar farms. We will identify the ideal solar project for your needs and make that project a reality. Call the office at 212.389.9215 or send us an email to learn how much you could save by switching to solar.
YSG Solar is a project development company responsible for commoditizing energy infrastructure projects. We work with long-term owners and operators to provide clean energy assets with stable, predictable cash flows. YSG's market focus is distributed generation and utility-scale projects located within North America.
Sources:
https://mailchi.mp/nyseia/november-2021-member-update?e=15ad7141f6
https://vibrantcleanenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/VCE-VS-NY_Final.pdf