Solar power production at New York’s State Parks will more than double, with four projects to be built in the Hudson Valley and Long Island as an example of projects aligned with the goals of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed Restore Mother Nature bond act proposal.
A joint effort by State Parks and the New York Power Authority, the new solar arrays support a statewide effort to increase use of renewable energy across state properties, make the parks system more sustainable and energy efficient, and support New York’s ambitious clean energy goals.
“State Parks must continue efforts to become more sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint,” said State Parks commissioner, Erik Kulleseid. “Our goal is to keep scaling up our solar capacity and produce enough power to cover half of our needs by 2025.”
“New York State’s parks are a great place to harness the power of the sun and to model sustainability as a key element of energy production throughout the state,” said NYPA president and CEO, Gil C. Quiniones. “Expanding the use of clean energy technology makes a public statement about the importance of combatting climate change and helping the state reduce its carbon footprint as we move toward a cleaner future.”
Under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act signed last summer by Governor Cuomo, the state has a goal of renewables supplying 70 per cent of electricity usage by 2030, and of zero greenhouse gas emissions from the electrical grid by 2040.
The four solar arrays at Parks locations are expected to produce about 4.6 gigawatt hours of energy a year, to be added to the 2.2 gigawatt hours currently produced at 29 current solar projects developed at State Parks since 2012. Acting as renewable energy advisor and leading the project, NYPA has been working with State Parks as part of an ongoing effort to combat climate change.
Once the new arrays are completed this year, State Parks will be covering 15 per cent of its total statewide energy consumption through solar power, up from the current four per cent figure. This will offset all the power demand in the Park’s Taconic Region on the eastern side of the Hudson River, which includes 14 parks and eight historic sites in Columbia, Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties.
By 2025, State Parks aims to produce about 25 gigawatt hours, which would cover half of the electricity demand at its 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses and other facilities.
