New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved legislation allowing solar energy to continue its rapid growth in the state.The package of bills, all related to tax exemption of solar projects in New York, is likely to have a positive impact on the total amount of electricity derived from renewables in the state.

These systems have the capacity to produce 121 MW of clean solar energy — enough to power nearly 20,000 homes. In addition to these new laws, the state has several other policies in place to promote solar investment, including a feed-in tariff through Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) customer-sited tiered program, and net metering — rules that credit customers for excess power generated.

The bill package signed by Gov. Cuomo today includes:
Bill A 34-B: Provides tax credits for solar energy system equipment.

Bill A 10620: Provides for the amount of tax abatement for solar generating systems in cities of one million or more.

Bill A 5522-B: Exempts the sale and installation of commercial solar energy systems from state sales and compensating use taxes and allows municipalities to grant these systems a tax exemption as well.

Today, the U.S. solar energy industry employs 100,000 Americans at more than 5,600 companies, mostly small businesses, across the nation in all 50 states.