New York Governor Kathy Hochul (pictured) has announced awards for 22 large-scale solar and energy storage projects that are expected to deliver enough clean, affordable energy to power over 620,000 New York homes for at least 20 years.
As the state’s largest land-based renewable energy procurement to date, these projects will spur over $2.7bn (€2.5bn) in private investment and create over 3,000 short- and long-term jobs across the state.
The awards accelerate progress to exceed New York’s goal to obtain 70% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 on the path to a zero-emission grid by 2040 as required by Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
These awards are expected to strengthen the state’s current pipeline of renewables to power over 66% of New York’s electricity from renewable sources.
Hochul said: “Today’s investments will put us on a path to making New York a greener place to live while also creating new jobs and spurring economic developmen.
“These projects will allow us to not just meet but exceed our goal of obtaining 70% of our electricity from renewable resources and will further cement New York as a national leader in the fight against climate change.”
Among those chosen were five Boralex solar farms totalling 540MW of generation and 77MW of storage.
Boralex chief executive Patrick Decostre said: “Today’s announcement solidifies Boralex’s role in New York State’s energy market during this critical expansion of renewable electricity generation.
“These projects showcase the strategic, creative approaches to solar farm development and community engagement our reputation is built on.
“I am proud of the Boralex team and their efforts to create clean, competitive energy.”
To further New York State’s goal of 70% renewable electricity by 2030, NYSERDA launched its fifth request for proposals April 2021 for the purchase of New York Tier-1 Eligible Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
RECs represent renewable electricity entering the electricity grid. Each REC equals the environmental attributes of one megawatt hour of electricity generated from a renewable source, such as solar.
The announcement begins a process for Boralex and NYSERDA to execute 20-year Renewable Energy Standard Agreements for the purchase of RECs associated with the energy production of the selected projects.
The energy associated with the RECs must be consumed within New York State.
The price of the RECs will be indexed to a reference energy and capacity price, which will hedge the projects’ merchant energy and capacity revenues, obviating a need for the projects to obtain a separate long term offtake agreement for the sale of energy and capacity.
NYSERDA president and chief executive Doreen M Harris said: “The large-scale solar projects announced today, including five Boralex projects, bring New York State significantly closer to reaching our clean energy goals and transitioning us toward a zero-emission electricity system.
“NYSERDA looks forward to working with Boralex to ensure these projects are advanced responsibly and with local input to allow host communities to realize the critical jobs and investments that will come from these solar farms.”