New York Gov. David Paterson announced a plan to install 100 megawatts of solar energy systems statewide by 2014 at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Wednesday morning.

‘Today we are going to embark on an unprecedented clean energy initiative as we heighten to an extent never equaled before the amount of solar electricity produced right here in New York,’ he said at the press conference.

The New York Power Authority began issuing a request for proposals to install solar electricity systems across the state Thursday. The proposed 100 megawatts of solar energy is five times greater than the current amount of solar energy in New York, Paterson said.

This project is also the largest solar energy initiative in the state’s history, doubling the record of 50 megawatts of solar power set by the Long Island Power Authority six months ago, Paterson said.

The project is part of Paterson’s ’45 by 15′ project, dedicated to making sure 45 percent of the state’s energy comes from clean and renewable sources by 2015. In addition to being renewable, solar energy reduces the need to import volatile foreign substances and has a fixed price, said Shaun Chapman, East Coast campaign director of the Vote Solar Initiative.

Paterson stressed that the project will create new jobs throughout the state and in Syracuse. The proposed increase in solar energy creates manufacturing, building and installation opportunities within the state, he said. It also opens the door for greater research and development in solar power, Paterson said.

‘This type of industry will be outsource-proof,’ he said. ‘There will be no taking these jobs to anyplace else. That’s the beauty of clean energy systems that we’re building now. They’re close to those who actually utilize the power.’

Solar energy creates more jobs per kilowatt than any other energy in the world, Chapman said.

Proposals are due to NYPA by Earth Day, which falls on April 22, said NYPA President Richard Kessel. The winning developments will be selected in the summer, and solar panels will be installed by December, he said.

New solar energy systems will mainly be installed in government buildings, schools and municipal facilities, Kessel said.

‘We will begin to see the fruits of this process as early as the end of this year,’ he said.

One-hundred megawatts of power is enough to power 15,000 homes. The emission of greenhouse gases in the state will reduce by 45,000 tons a year once the project is completed, Kessel said.

Making his speech at ESF, Paterson complimented the university’s green initiatives.

‘I would say that ESF is the catalyst of the green economy here in Central New York,’ he said.

ESF was an appropriate place for the announcement because the campus has more renewable energy systems than any other SUNY campus, said Cornelius Murphy, ESF’s president. The university also has a long-standing relationship with NYPA, which is currently involved in a study of energy-efficiency opportunities on the ESF campus, he said.

Paterson also responded to a question about the recent controversial decision to give independence on setting tuition and spending state money to SUNY campuses. He said that the schools themselves have a better idea of when to raise their tuition and what works best for them, so independence will be a good thing.

‘(The SUNY schools) are very happy about it,’ Paterson said. ‘The word all around SUNY is that this is a liberation for them that they’ve been fighting for for 30 years.’

kronayne@syr.edu

Published on January 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm