The award comes as a part of NYSERDA’s fifth annual Renewable Energy Standard request for proposals, which aims to add more than 2 GW of clean energy projects to the state’s grid.
New Jersey-headquartered CS Energy announced that the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) has awarded the company a three-project, 270 MW portfolio of utility-scale solar installations, to be installed across New York state, as a part of NYSERDA’s fifth annual Renewable Energy Standard request for proposals.
According to CS Energy, construction on the portfolio, is expected to commence in 2025 and will be completed in 2026. The portfolio is expected to create hundreds of jobs, though no specific figure was provided. Each project will utilize bifacial solar modules and single-axis trackers. CS has also shared the capacity and location of each project:
- Stern Solar, a 20 project in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer County
- York Run Solar, a 90 MW project in Busti and Kiantone, Chautauqua County
- Yellow Barn Solar, a 160 MW project in Lansing and Groton, Tompkins County
The Yellow Barn project will be located less than 10 miles from the Cayuga coal plant, which was retired in 2019.
“As the first company to successfully develop and construct large scale solar in upstate New York, we are proud to continue playing a leading role in the deployment of NYSERDA’s large-scale renewables (LSR) program,” said Eric Millard, chief commercial officer at CS Energy. “Our personalized approach and hands-on experience collaborating with municipalities, state and local agencies, communities, local labor, and New York businesses sets us apart in helping New York achieve its renewable energy goals.”
Millard’s quote references the 216 MW, eight-project solar portfolio that CS Energy began construction on in 2021, after being awarded the projects by NYSERDA as part of its Renewable Energy Standard Request for Proposals in 2017 and 2018. That portfolio includes the recently-completed Branscomb Solar installation, a 27 MW project and the the first utility-scale solar project completed in the state outside Long Island.
The award represents 270 MW of a more than 2 GW portfolio of clean energy projects awarded by NYSERDA this spring. The initiative is being touted as the state’s largest land-based renewable energy procurement to date. Construction and development of the portfolio is expected to create over 3,000 short- and long-term jobs across the state, more than $2.7 billion in private investment, and raise the state’s renewable energy total in its overall energy mix to around 66%.
