On April 27, 2021, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA”) announced changes to the Megawatt (“MW”) Block Program for residential solar projects throughout upstate New York. The MW Block Program provides financial incentives to promote solar development in New York State. A certain amount of incentives are assigned to each region and type of development (e.g., residential). The financial incentives take the form of a set dollar amount per watt of the solar project capacity and, once a “block” is full, the incentive amount decreases for each subsequent block of eligible projects.
Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, the current Upstate Region Residential Block 8 that opened in 2017 was almost fully allocated. However, on Tuesday, NYSERDA added 27 megawatts to the current Block 8 allocation to promote further solar development. What this means is that more projects have the opportunity to earn Block 8’s financial incentive of $0.35 per watt of the project’s development capacity (“Watt DC”) before the current block fills up and the incentive decreases to $0.20 per Watt DC with Block 9. NYSERDA’s extension of the extra $0.15 per Watt DC incentive offered by the current block reinforces New York’s commitment to promoting strong, continued participation by developers who are incentivized by the MW Block Program.
If you would like more information on the NYSERDA Megawatt Block Program, please contact a member of our Renewable Energy practice group at 585.232.6500 or 716.853.1616.