A major milestone has been reached in the Mid-Hudson Valley, with solar capacity in Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation’s service area now exceeding 100 megawatts (MW).

“Installed solar capacity by residents, businesses and developers in our region reached 100.9 MW, an indication of the growth in local renewable sources of energy,” said Charles A. Freni, President and C.E.O. of Central Hudson. “Because solar resources generate electricity during daylight hours, this level of capacity can supply the average electricity use of up to 16,000 homes, with the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 38,000 tons.

“Our service area is home to more than 8,900 customer and developer-owned solar electric systems, which on a per capita basis is among the largest in the state.” He explained that an additional 326 solar systems in the region are proposed, representing 287 MW of installed capacity with the potential to avoid an additional 110,000 tons of emissions.

“Along with installations taking place at homes and businesses throughout our region, there is growing interest in the development of community solar projects known as Community Distributed Generation, or CDG,” said Freni. He explained that customers interested in purchasing energy produced by solar, hydro power and other renewable sources but are unable to install their own systems may do so through a CDG. “These companies offer electric supply through separate agreements, and customers who purchase electricity from these locally sited facilities are credited for that energy on their Central Hudson bills,” said Freni. To date this year, four solar CDG facilities were brought online, and currently a total of five solar and three hydro CDG facilities are interconnected to Central Hudson’s system.

Not included above are proposed and pending large-scale wholesale market solar generators representing more than 600 MW of solar capacity.

“We’re proud of our leadership position in New York, thanks to the commitment shown by local solar professionals, the high level of interest in renewable energy by our customers and Central Hudson’s programs and initiatives to facilitate solar connections to the utility grid,” said Freni. “Central Hudson’s ongoing investments in the electric system and adoption of new technologies will also enable greater integration of clean, renewable sources of energy developed in our region.”

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Solar installations in Central Hudson’s service area, such as the one pictured above in the Town of Poughkeepsie, reached a milestone this summer with more than 100 megawatts of capacity. Combined, these systems can supply the average electricity use of up to 16,000 homes, with the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 38,000 tons.