Sustainable PR’s founder, Tony DeFazio, reflects on his experience meeting with state legislators in New York’s capitol:
I recently had the privilege of joining clients and other solar leaders in Albany for the New York Solar Energy Industries Association (NYSEIA) Lobby Day, a public policy initiative to accelerate New York’s solar energy adoption.
Over the course of two days and 25 legislative meetings with assembly representatives and state senators, we secured several backers for key policy initiatives. The effort comes at a critical time.
Despite the success of residential and distributed generation energy in New York – in large part due to the strong leadership of NYSERDA and the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) – the industry faces significant headwinds at the federal level and competing budget priorities at the state level. Focusing on state-level policy is important to protect against the encroachment of anti-climate initiatives at the federal level. This week, the Department of Justice has been ordered to investigate forward-thinking state laws. States are now having to defend their climate policies from federal intrusion.
Working with NYSEIA’s leadership and our lobbyists, we pushed for three key initiatives, which included:
1) Increasing New York’s distributed solar goal to 20 gigawatts by 2035
2) Strengthening the residential solar tax credit, and
3) Advocating for community solar siting reform to streamline project development
We scored a major win with the introduction of Senator Pete Harckham’s Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) Act. This legislation aims to boost distributed solar, improve interconnection processes, and continue the NY-Sun program.
I enjoyed participating in these policy initiatives, advocating for the need to increase solar development and utilization – similar to how Sustainable PR leads grassroots advocacy in communities – directly to legislators who are crucial to determining the fate of the industry. Fortunately, thanks to thoughtful strategy by the NYSEIA team and the laser-like focus of our members, 90% of the legislators we met with were receptive to strengthening solar policy that helps continue the growth trajectory of residential and community solar.
I was proud to have the opportunity to represent Sustainable PR in Albany, collaborating with our peers in the industry to support the work we do with the media and communities. We left Albany energized, knowing that our collective efforts were making a real difference.
The sun is shining bright on New York’s solar future, and we’re proud to be a part of it.
