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New Yorkers are facing an energy crisis, and it’s hitting household budgets right where it hurts.
Across the state, electricity costs are rising faster than wages. Families, renters, small businesses, and seniors are paying more every month for the same essential service, with little control over the outcome. And as extreme weather, aging infrastructure, and fossil fuel volatility strain our grid, the pressure is only expected to grow.
The good news? New York is already leading in the most effective and affordable solutions in the country: distributed solar and community solar. The challenge now is making sure policy keeps pace with what New Yorkers need.
So how do we move from rising costs to real relief? New York already knows the answer: build more clean energy close to home, faster, and remove the outdated rules that make affordable power harder to deliver.
That’s where the ASAP Act (Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power) comes in. This legislation would unlock faster, cheaper solar deployment across New York, lower energy bills, strengthen local economies, and help stabilize the grid — all at no cost to the state budget.
We break down what’s driving today’s energy costs, how community solar works, why it matters for everyday New Yorkers, and how you can help move this solution forward.
New York Energy costs are rising
Electricity prices across New York have climbed sharply in recent years, driven by volatile fossil fuel markets, transmission constraints, and growing demand on an aging grid. According to the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), wholesale electricity prices rose significantly year-over-year.
For households already stretched thin, these increases aren’t abstract. They show up as:
- Higher monthly utility bills: In the Greater Rochester region, where GreenSpark is headquartered, utilities proposed significant rate increases that could add roughly $30+ per month in electric charges for many households.
- Greater energy insecurity: Low- and moderate-income families, in particular, are at greater risk of insufficient home heating and cooling due to high energy costs, and power shut-offs due to late payments.
- Fewer options for renters and people without suitable rooftops to control costs
At the same time, some of the most cost-effective tools for lowering energy bills (like rooftop and community solar) are facing policy headwinds and outdated grid rules that slow projects down and drive costs up.
New York has been here before. And historically, when affordability and reliability are at stake, the state has stepped up.
The energy solution New York already has
Before diving into policy, it’s worth understanding the tools New York is already using successfully, and why they matter for energy affordability.
What is distributed solar in New York?
Distributed solar refers to solar energy projects that are built closer to where electricity is used — rather than far-away, centralized power plants. This includes:
- Rooftop solar on homes and commercial buildings
- Community solar projects serving hundreds of local subscribers
- Small- to mid-scale solar installations connected directly to local distribution grids, such as this example that powers the operations of a local Fortune 500 company
Because these projects are located near customers, distributed solar:
- Reduces strain on long-distance transmission lines
- Lowers system-wide electricity costs
- Improves grid resilience during peak demand
In New York, distributed solar has become one of the most effective ways to deliver affordable, clean power quickly — helping the state exceed interim deployment targets ahead of schedule while keeping costs lower than projected.
What is community solar in New York, and who does it help?
Why it matters: A large share of U.S. households and businesses can’t install rooftop solar due to renting, roof constraints, or upfront costs (current NREL estimates put this at about 50%). Community solar closes this gap.
Community solar is designed for people who can’t install solar on their own roofs.
That includes:
- Condo and apartment residents and renters
- Homeowners and businesses with shaded or unsuitable roofs
- Households and businesses that can’t afford upfront installation costs
Instead of installing panels at home, subscribers receive credits on their electricity bills from a shared local solar project — typically saving around 10% on their supply charges, with no installation and no long-term contract.
How community solar benefits local communities
These projects don’t just reduce emissions, they strengthen New York’s economy and energy system. Beyond lowering bills, distributed solar delivers tangible local benefits:
Eco Impact
A single community solar project can:
- Serve 200–1,000 homes
- Generate 1–5 megawatts of clean power
- Repurpose land unsuitable for farming, providing stable, recurring revenue to the landowner to help them maintain ownership for future generations
Jobs and workforce development
New York’s solar sector supports over 15,000 jobs statewide, from electricians and engineers to construction crews and operations teams — jobs that can’t be outsourced and are tied directly to local communities.
At GreenSpark alone, our work supports:
- 140 permanent employees
- Hundreds of additional project-based workers (typically about 300 annually)
- Prevailing-wage construction jobs that stay local
Stronger towns and a stronger grid
Because community solar projects are built near the people they serve, they:
- Keep energy dollars circulating locally
- Generate tax revenue for host municipalities
- Strengthen the grid exactly where demand exists
This is why community solar is the fastest-growing segment of solar in the U.S., and why New York is the national leader, with more installed community solar capacity than any other state. For many New Yorkers, community solar is the only realistic way to access clean, affordable energy, but momentum has slowed down.
How the ASAP Act lowers energy costs for all New Yorkers
The ASAP Act focuses on one simple idea: make it faster and less expensive to connect affordable solar to the grid — without compromising reliability.
The Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) Act is designed to remove outdated barriers that slow downsolar projects and increase the costs to build them.
Key benefits include:
Lower costs for everyone — without new state spending
The ASAP Act calls for reforms to streamline interconnection and planning to reduce system-wide electricity costs.
The reforms proposed will not add any costs to the state budget.
Independent analyses estimate more than $50 billion in total electricity bill savings for New Yorkers through expanded distributed and community solar. This includes both direct savings for subscribers and indirect savings from lower wholesale market prices.
Modernize how solar connects to the grid
Today’s interconnection rules assume worst-case scenarios (as if every solar project will operate at full output, all the time). That’s not how modern grids work. The ASAP Act would:
- Enable flexible interconnection, using smart grid technology to manage peak demand
- Allow solar developers and engineering, procurement, and construction subcontractors to self-perform grid upgrades under utility oversight, reducing inflated costs
- Increase transparency around upgrade pricing
These changes alone could prevent countless projects from being abandoned due to unnecessary expense.
Raise New York’s ambition
The legislation raises distributed solar targets through 2035 (from 10 to 20 GW) and ensures continued momentum beyond legacy incentive programs.
By raising the bar for distributed solar, we’ll keep New York on track to meet its overall climate and affordability goals.
Take action: Help accelerate affordable solar in New York
Energy affordability is not a future problem — it’s a now problem.
Every delay in deploying low-cost solar means higher bills, more fossil fuel dependence, and missed opportunities for local economic growth. The ASAP Act represents a practical, proven solution that benefits all New Yorkers regardless of whether they own a home, rent an apartment, or run a small business.
Momentum builds when people speak up. Together, we can make clean energy more accessible — and energy bills more affordable — for all New Yorkers.
If you care about lower energy bills, climate action, and local jobs, your voice matters. Here’s how you can help today:
NYSEIA, Solar United Neighbors, Third Act, Solar One, and many other organizations are working together to drive this campaign for affordable, clean energy.
At GreenSpark Solar, we’re proud to be the #1 community solar contractor in the nation, and the top solar contractor headquartered in New York, building the projects that make this future possible — and advocating for the policies that allow them to thrive.
