Lawmakers couldn't reconcile solar bill

By RICHARD MOODY

The Environmental Advocates of New York is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take matters into his own hands after the Senate and the Assembly could not negotiate a single cohesive bill this past session to codify the already existing NY-Sun Initiative that would incentivize companies to bring solar power into New York.

The bills — S.2522 and A.5050-d — would have made the NY-Sun Initiative permanent. It has been a temporary incentive program since 2011 and is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2015.

The initiative provides incentives to companies to bring solar energy technology to New York, while keeping costs for rate payers from going up.

An example of one incentive provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, as part of the initiative, is a cash incentive provided to eligible applicants to install solar electric systems that connect to the electrical grid. This applies to residential systems that are 7 kilowatts or less and commercial systems that are 50 kilowatts or less.

Read more at http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2013-07-08-84364.113122-Lawmakers-couldnt-reconcile-solar-bill.html