2023 Solicitation
2023 RES Solicitation for Tier 1 RECs
NYSERDA's seventh annual solicitation under the Clean Energy Standard, RESRFP23-1 [PDF], was issued on November 30, 2023 and resulted in contracts for 23 solar and wind projects, to develop 2,341 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity throughout New York State. These contracts constitute enough megawatts of new renewable capacity to power over 700,000 households.
The State's investment in these new land-based renewables projects is expected to spur over $4.7 billion of direct private investment. Once these projects are operational, the average bill impact for customers over the life of the contracts will be approximately 0.74 percent, or about $0.70 per month. The nominal weighted average strike price of the awarded projects over the life of the contracts is $94.73 per megawatt hour. The strike prices comprising the weighted averages cited above are subject to certain adjustments in accordance with the terms of the awarded contracts based on certain price indices. For more information on the contracts, consult the 2023 Renewable Energy Standard Solicitation Fact Sheet [PDF].
These contracts continue to support the achievement of New York’s nation leading goal of generating 70% of New York’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030, set out in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
The contracted projects include:
Central New York
- Dog Corners Solar in Cayuga County
- Scipio Solar in Cayuga County
- ELP Granby Solar II in Oswego County
- Garnet Energy Center in Cayuga County
Finger Lakes
- Trelina Solar Energy Center in Seneca County
- Cider Solar Farm in Genesee County
- Highview Solar in Wyoming County
- Heritage Wind in Orleans County
- Excelsior Energy Center in Genesee County
Mid-Hudson
- Little Pond Solar in Orange County
Mohawk Valley
- Tayandenega Solar in Montgomery County
- Rock District Solar in Schoharie County
- Grassy Knoll Solar in Herkimer County
- Flat Hill Solar in Herkimer County
- Watkins Road Solar in Herkimer County
- Hills Solar in Herkimer County
- Flat Stone Solar in Oneida County
North Country
- Brookside Solar in Franklin County
Southern Tier
- Baron Winds II in Steuben County
- Canisteo Wind Energy Center in Steuben County
- Valley Solar in Tioga County
Western New York
- Alle-Catt Wind in Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties (and Wyoming County, Finger Lakes Region)
- Bear Ridge Solar in Niagara County
Associated Documents
- RESRFP23-1 Request for Proposals
- Appendix 1. Resource Assessment and Energy Production Estimate Requirements
- Appendix 2. RESRFP23-1 Smart Solar Siting Scorecard
- Attachment A. RESRFP23-1 Standard Form Agreement and Exhibits
- Attachment B. Public Release of Bid Facility Information
- Attachment C. Step One Submission Instructions
- Attachment D. Bid Data Form
- Attachment E. P[50] 8760 Template
- Attachment F. Minimum Thresholds Narrative
- Attachment G. Agricultural Mitigation Estimate Calculator
- Attachment H. Agricultural Mitigation Payment Deferral Request Form
- Attachment I. Mutual Termination Agreement
Awarded Projects’ Smart Solar Siting Scorecards
Pursuant to Section 4.3.5 Agricultural and Forested Land (Solar Bid Facilities in New York State Only) of RESRFP23-1, NYSERDA is making the Smart Solar Siting Scorecards (“Scorecards”) of the awarded proposals publicly available.
The increased minimum eligibility thresholds introduced in RESRFP23-1 were responsive to Governor Hochul’s 10 Point Action Plan (opens in new window); this resulted in proposals and ultimately an award group comprised of projects in relatively advanced phases of development. As such, many awarded projects had already obtained siting permits and had already entered the NYISO interconnection queue prior to 2021, when the Scorecard was first introduced. When reviewing Scorecard results, especially pertaining to Scorecard comparisons across different RES solicitations, it should be considered that each solicitation has unique requirements. In the case of RESRFP23-1, projects that were previously awarded by NYSERDA and/or have been in development for years were relatively mature projects with inherently less flexibility to adopt certain Scorecard measures. These projects may have lower Scorecard scores than those expected of less mature solar facilities.
Since its introduction in RESRFP21-1, the Scorecard has evolved through coordination with the New York Agricultural Technical Working Group (A-TWG). The full range of 160 Scorecard points represents implementation options for smart solar siting practices for large-scale solar facilities. The Scorecard rewards proposals for the measures they commit to undertaking as part of the development, construction, and operation of the solar facility. Not all Scorecard options are suitable for every site.
The Smart Solar Siting Scorecard, Workbook, and Scorecard Acronyms and Definitions can be found in Appendix 2 of the Associated Documents Section above.