For less than the price of a tank of gas, Long Island homeowners can now go solar. A recent Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) ruling allows SolarCity® (Nasdaq: SCTY) to provide solar electricity directly to Long Islanders starting for as little as $39 per month, and significantly decrease their energy costs. SolarCity allows customers to immediately pay less for solar electricity than they pay for utility bills, and lock in lower rates to protect themselves from utility increases in the future.

“Long Island is one of the most affordable places in the country to go solar,” said Ed Steins, SolarCity’s Northeast Regional Vice President. “SolarCity allows local homeowners to lock in rates for clean electricity and save on monthly utility bills.”

This new solar option is due in large part to the work of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature. The NY SUN Initiative, led by Gov. Cuomo and enacted by the Public Service Commission in April of 2012, initiated a new era of solar development in the state. Last week in his State of the State address, Governor Cuomo solidified New York’s commitment to NY SUN, which aims to quadruple the state’s customer-sited solar in 2013 and paves the way for SolarCity to provide clean energy options broadly across the state.

SolarCity recently opened its third New York location in Hauppauge, and currently employs over 100 New Yorkers among its Albany, Westchester County and Long Island offices.

“We’re excited to be building the clean energy economy in Long Island,” said Steins. “Our New York expansion is bringing new local jobs, including positions as installers, engineers, electricians, project managers and salespeople.”