NPM MARKET DATA: Community Solar State Spotlight - New York
This NPM State Spotlight is the second in a new report series highlighting the rapidly evolving Community Solar development landscape across the country. All accompanying charts are produced using the extensive community solar data recently added to the NPM platform.
Over the last five years, the New York State community solar market has become one of the most vibrant and important in the industry. NPM data currently tracks 185 operational community solar projects in the state with over 1,000 pre-operational projects in the interconnection queue.
As of Dec. 2020, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory reported as installed capacity of 410 MW of community solar in New York, making it the fourth most active community solar states in the nation behind just Minnesota at 663 MW, Florida at 593 MW and Massachusetts at 555 MW. Together, these four states account for 74 percent of the total community solar market in the US.
Top developers like Nexamp, Delaware River Solar, Borrego, BW Solar, and Omni Navitas are poised to be leaders in the community solar market of New York, according to queue application activity. In an interview with NPM, Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai called New York “a very large market” for Nexamp’s overall community solar pipeline.
“New York did a tremendous job in seeding and growing that market in very quick order,” Ashai said. “We think they’re a leader in this country and we’re pleased DG is part of their vision.”
Similarly, Nautilus has been active in New York since 2017 and now has 90 MW of operational projects in the state. Eric Paul, Nautilus’ Executive Director of Origination, and Nautilus president Jeffrey Cheng credit the rapid growth of New York’s community solar program because of its “robust incentive structure” that pushed developers to get in early with large projects.
However, New York’s market has also been a victim of its own success, leading to multiple incentive structure changes since 2017 that are starting to take their toll on development and may lead to a slowdown in the future without further adjustment.*
*The full Spotlight report is available only to subscribers. Get full access to this report and more, click here for more information on scheduling a demo of NPM products and services or to subscribe.