ALBANY — An array of shimmering panels covering 3 acres in the upstate Finger Lakes region is a sign of the state’s latest push to catch up to its neighbors in the Northeast that have set the pace for promoting solar energy.
The project in Romulus that will produce much of the electricity for the Seneca County sheriff’s department was funded in part with a grant of almost $1 million from the state’s NY-Sun program.
The initiative by Gov. Cuomo’s administration will provide tens of millions of dollars a year for public and private projects producing at least a megawatt of solar power.
An initial round of competition in 2012 allocated $30 million to 16 developers in New York City and the Hudson Valley who planned to put a total of 34 megawatts online by the end of this year.
One aim of NY-Sun is to increase the share of the state’s energy needs covered by renewable sources. Another is to close the gap with other states that moved more aggressively and quickly to encourage development of solar.
Developers say states such as Massachusetts outpaced New York, in part because of more generous incentives for a wider range of projects. New York limited subsidies to smaller projects until the launch of NY-Sun last year.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which runs the program, said that a total of $126 million for 184 projects was awarded this year.