BEACON – The State Public
Service Commission, Wednesday, approved a plan that will allow municipalities
to use remote solar farms to offset the cost of their street lights.
The PSC action came at the request of the City of Beacon, Dutchess County
and its partners, Sunlight Beacon LLC and BQ Energy LLC.
As part of the agreement, the city will be compensated for the value of
solar electricity produced at a solar farm planned for the city’s
closed landfill.
Until now, municipal street lighting accounts were not eligible for solar-generated,
net-metering credits.
The two MWs of electricity generated by the solar farm – enough
for some 1,600 average homes – will be used to offset the cost of
lighting the city’s streets and roads.
To further the development of solar farm-powered street lights, the Public
Service Commission’s order directs New York’s utilities to
file plans so that other localities can follow Beacon’s efforts.
