Commercial Solar in the North CountryMay 10, 2018

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NYSERDA• A nationally recognized leader in the development, commercialization, and

implementation of advanced energy technologies

• A public benefit corporation helping New York State meet its goals to:

– Reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency

– Create a clean energy economy

– Grow diverse, renewable energy supplies

– Protect the environment

– Provide experienced leadership in planning and policy

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Customer-Sited Commercial Solar

Remote Net Metering – Authorized in 2011Located remotely from the customer, can credit to multiple accounts of that one customer, only available to commercial customers

Net Metering – Established in NYS in 1997Located at the customer location, offsets one meter, available to residential and commercial customers

Indian River CSD – 665 kW; Photo Credit: WWNY TV

Photo Credit: D

avid Somm

erstein

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NY-Sun Initiative – 2014• Governor Cuomo committed $1 Billion to NY

Sun to achieve over 3GW of customer-sited solar installations by 2023

• NYSERDA managed incentive program supports solar projects for homes, multifamily buildings, commercial and industrial companies, and municipalities

• Protect the environment and lower energy costs by improving the efficiency and reliability of the electric grid, through solar energy

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Community Distributed Generation – Instituted in 2015

Expansion of Remote Net Metering – one project can serve multiple customers, available to residential and commercial customers

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https://data.ny.gov/Energy-Environment/Solar-Electric-Programs-Reported-by-NYSERDA-Beginn/3x8r-34rs/data

• There are proposed community solar projects in 39 counties

• Majority are about 2 MW

Ground mounted CDG Projects in NY-Sun

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Large Customer-sited Solar Development

Clarkson University, 2 MW

Town of Ontario, NY – 2.8 MW; Photo Credit: groSolar

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Clean Energy Standard - 2016• Governor Cuomo’s ambitious clean energy

mandate

• Renewable Energy Standard (RES) requires 50% renewable energy by 2030

• Obligation on Load-Serving Entities (utility companies, ESCOs)

• Starting in 2017, annual procurements by NYSERDA to support renewable energy development

• Wind, Solar, Hydroelectric, Offshore Wind, Biomass, Fuel Cells

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Getting to 50% Renewable EnergyAchieving the 50% RES goal

• Maintain existing resources

• NY-Sun Distributed Solar - add 2,500 MW by 2023

• Increase statewide energy efficiency by 600 TBtu by 2030

• Offshore Wind - 2,400 MW by 2030

• RES Procurements - around 600 MW annually

2016 NYISO System Mix

https://nygats.ny.gov/ng/Report/getdto_view_Report_PublicSystemMix

Hydroelectric22.64%

Biomass0.46%

Solar0.59%

Renewable Biogas0.21%

Nuclear30.14%Solid Waste

1.58%

Coal, Oil, & Natural Gas

41.93%

Wind2.45%

26.35% Renewable

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Large-Scale Renewable Awards – 2017 Renewable Energy Standard Solicitation

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Large Utility Scale Solar Development

Long Island Solar Farm, 32 MW; Photo Credit: Brookhaven National Lab

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NYISO Interconnection Queue - Wind and Solar

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1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

0

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30

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Jan-15 Jan-16 Jan-17 Jan-18

MW

Num

ber o

f Pro

ject

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Wind over 25 MW

Wind under 25 MW

Solar over 25 MW

Solar under 25 MW

Total MW Capacity

Wind MW Capacity

Solar MW Capacity

http://www.nyiso.com/public/markets_operations/services/planning/planning_resources/index.jsp

This represents potential renewable energy projects

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http://www.nyiso.com/public/markets_operations/services/planning/planning_resources/index.jsp

NYISO Queue Solar Projects by County

• There are proposed large scale solar projects in 32 counties

• Majority are about 20 MW

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https://www.seia.org/research-resources/development-timeline-utility-scale-solar-power-plant

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Building Public Support 2017 LBNL “National Survey of Attitudes of Wind Power Project Neighbors”

Positive Attitude with Wind projects correlated to:• Developer Transparency• Community being able to influence

outcome• Individuals being able to

participate in the planning process• CompensationTrue for participants upset by sound, aesthetics, or landscape fit

https://emp.lbl.gov/projects/wind-neighbor-survey

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Building Public Support

NYSERDA initiatives to increase citizen awareness and engagement• Provision of Information Resources

– Broadly applicable, Coordinated with NY-Sun• Community Engagement

– Direct Assistance, Targeted approach• Community Ownership Models

– Investment in the project, Energy benefits through a CCA

Host communities experience:• Lack of information to evaluate projects• Diminished negotiating position• Fear of Article 10 and loss of control

Which leads to:• Distrust of developer• Sense of powerlessness in the process• Erosion of support for LSR development

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2018 RES RFP – New Siting Requirements• New Threshold Requirement to demonstrate engagement with local officials (initial

application and preliminary permitting documents or equivalent have been started or submitted)

• New Requirements for Bid Package:– Community Outreach Plan – Proposers will include a comprehensive plan that addresses

localized support/opposition (including local ordinances, prohibitions, or moratoria) that could impact the project and an overview of outreach activities

– Public Release of Bid Proposal Information - Proposers will populate a standardized form providing a public project overview and basic information

– New Site Character subcategory - Points awarded for sites that avoid prime agricultural areas or parcels that hold an agricultural tax assessment

• NYSERDA Outreach:– After bid submission deadline, NYSERDA will post project overview information publicly on

website and engage host communities– Conditional awards to projects located in communities with moratoria

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2018 RES RFP – Agricultural Land UseNew Site Character subcategory Site Character subcategory provides developers incentive to avoid prime agricultural lands and maintains flexibility to configure projects across/within parcels when creating a final project layout.

Points awarded for NY projects that 1) avoid overlap with prime agricultural areas, and 2) avoid development on parcels that hold an agricultural tax assessment.

Developers must agree to construct the project in accordance with NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets Construction Standards.

NYSERDA will substantiate claims prior to Commercial Operation, and if claims are not met, financial penalties apply

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Technical Assistance for Local Governments

Online tools and information

Access to technical experts Facilitated

collaborative planning process

Level of service offered

Com

mun

ity N

eeds

Collaborative planning:• Identify community

and developer interests

• Address legitimate issues

• Mitigate for unavoidable impacts

• Build consensus solutions

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Thank you

Maureen LeddyMaureen.Leddy@nyserda.ny.gov518-862-1090 x3318

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Programs/NY-Sunhttps://www.nyserda.ny.gov/Clean-Energy-Standard