Solar Programs

Overview

New York State Homes and Community Renewal is committed to aligning the development and preservation of affordable housing with the ambitious goal of 85% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050, as outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The development of Solar Programs by HCR emphasizes the role that Solar Photovoltaics (PV) will play in the transition from fossil fuels to electrifying the State’s affordable housing. On-site Solar PV development is supported through several state and federal incentives, funding, and technical assistance.

Solar Evaluation Tool

The HCR Solar Evaluation Tool (SET) program is a technical assistance program designed to help affordable housing project teams understand the solar incentive landscape and provide a tool to assess their development projects for solar viability early in design. The program includes both a financial analysis tool (SET) AND direct access to a solar technical assistant who will provide project level assistance, including:

Preliminary solar design
Preliminary solar financial analysis
Assistance with solar bidding and installer procurement
General solar questions

Solar Evaluation Tool

The HCR Solar Evaluation Tool (SET) was developed to help project teams assess solar viability at a project early in design. To complete the tool, development teams will fill in key project information requiring no solar expertise. HCR will use the information project teams submit to design a preliminary solar layout and generate outputs from the Solar Evaluation Tool for the applicant. Completion of the tool will provide project teams with key information to determine the financial viability of solar for a cost including upfront cost (or savings), payback period, rate of return, lifetime net savings, and cumulative cash flow of the solar project.

Click here for the SET Tool:

Solar Evaluation Tool