Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

US: NY must embrace solar on a larger scale

New York State Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has said the U.S. state needs to “embrace solar power on a larger scale than it currently does” during the unveiling of his solar energy platform yesterday, in order to allow it to become a “leader” in the industry and develop green jobs.

New York has the opportunity to become a solar leader. Image: Wikipedia/Diliff.

In order to achieve this goal, he said that New York should establish specific targets for the amount of solar energy that utilities and energy service companies must acquire, with provisions to suspend that requirement if solar costs do not come down as rapidly as expected.

The New York Solar Energy Industries Association (NYSEIA) has said it supports Cuomo, who is, according to the association, the first gubernatorial candidate to release a solar platform in his campaign for the November election.

“Andrew Cuomo recognizes that New York has the opportunity to become a leader in this industry and that we must take steps to invest in this sector so we don’t fall our neighbors,” said NYSEIA president Ron Kamen, senior vice president of EarthKind Solar.

NYSEIA executive director Gail Markels added: “It is refreshing that there are elected officials, such as Andrew Cuomo, who understand the nuances of the solar industry. NYSEIA hopes to continue to work with the Cuomo campaign to bring green jobs to New York State and fulfill our shared goal of making solar energy the least expensive and most widely used energy source in the state.”

Read the full story here.