Long Island Adopts New CLEAN Program; CLEAN LA Set to Expand
These developments highlight the growing trend by U.S. utilities and communities to utilize CLEAN Programs to spur the rapid and cost-effective deployment of clean local energy.
Across the nation, the movement towards clean local energy continues to gain momentum as utilities in New York and California seek increased generation from distributed renewables.
On June 28, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), which serves over 1 million customers, approved its CLEAN Solar Initiative to bring 50 megawatts (MW) of local solar energy generation online within two years. The CLEAN Solar Initiative – the largest program of its kind by any utility on the Eastern Seaboard – will advance New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NY-Sun Initiative goal of quadrupling customer-sited solar energy in New York State by 2013.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) announced that by the end of the year the utility will expand the CLEAN LA Solar Program to 150 MW of renewable energy capacity. LADWP received a strong response to the initial 10 MW CLEAN demonstration program, which launched earlier this year. The utility plans to use information gathered during the demonstration program to fine-tune pricing, and other aspects of program design, to ensure successful implementation of the larger 150 MW program.
These developments highlight the growing trend by U.S. utilities and communities to utilize CLEAN Programs to spur the rapid and cost-effective deployment of clean local energy. In just the last three years, CLEAN Programs have been implemented in Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Oregon, Hawaii, and California.
