We need more sun
State’s new solar initiative is a project worth pursuing
Published: February 04, 2010, 12:30 am
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Renewable energy is not yet ready to overtake more traditional forms of electrical power production, and won’t be anytime soon. But a recent announcement by New York Power Authority President Richard M. Kessel offers hope for the future, and adds some incentive to pursue ambitious fossil- fuel replacement goals.
Kessel noted that NYPA’s solar initiative already has received significant response from 60 interested parties registered to receive project information, as well as requests for proposal updates. The agency also is pushing firms to put component-manufacturing sites here, so the work being done in upstate New York means the creation of valuable green jobs and incentives for related businesses to locate here.
Combined with efforts to explore offshore wind power, the solar initiative represents a boost that could pay employment dividends.
The recently announced NYPA Solar Photovoltaic Initiative is designed to stimulate the clean energy industry throughout the state, provide renewable energy educational opportunities, support public sustainability efforts and help develop solar technologies.
The request for proposals seeks a public-private partnership for the installation of up to 100 megawatts of photovoltaic systems across the state, including roof-mounted and ground-mounted solar arrays. Once completed, the project will be the largest solar project in state history. While that power production would be the equivalent of serving about 15,000 homes, the initial aim is to promote sustainability efforts by reducing the carbon footprint of state and local public facilities from schools to libraries to city halls. The project could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45,000 tons per year.
Some construction is set to begin by the end of the year, and while costs could exceed the range of tens of millions of dollars, Kessel is on record as saying that investment would not increase the rates the authority charges for power.
Kessel hasn’t been in the job long, but has made it his business to push what once seemed the improbable.Gov. David A. Paterson deserves credit for seeking such projects and smoothing the path toward potentially greater use of renewable energy. The governor’s “45 by 15” program calls for 45 percent of the state’s electricity to be delivered through energy-efficient and clean renewable energy by 2015, and contends that will create 50,000 new jobs throughout the state. Western New York could figure heavily in that effort, as it is at the forefront and ready to become a nexus for the green job industry.
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