New York Net Metering Bills Passed

New York was once considered a U.S. leader in the area of solar energy policy, but as the world’s solar markets have developed, New York hasn’t kept pace. In particular, net metering—a policy that allows solar systems to get credit for excess energy fed back into the grid—has been a problem area. Until last month, New York law capped net metering at 10 kW—fine for residences, but a major barrier for putting solar on large commercial applications such as schools, stores, and government buildings.

Assembly Bill 9902 and Senate Bill 7171, with the support of a diverse coalition of supporting organizations including Solar Nation (and our New York Solar Citizens in particular), passed their respective houses in June 2008, raising the state’s net metering cap to 2 MW (the same level as the leading solar states) and opening the market for large-scale solar in New York.

Solar citizens from New York state helped make this happen!