2018 Solar Energy Trends in Long Island, NY

Over the past five years, New York has become one of the hottest solar energy markets in the United States. Long Island, in particular, has seen a surge in solar applications and the number of residents adding solar panels to their homes has quadrupled in less than 5 years.

EmPower Solar, a trusted Long Island based solar panel installer, recently commissioned third party research to uncover the trends in solar applications in this region. By using public data provided by the local utility PSEGLI, researchers were able to uncover some interesting findings regarding the most popular towns for solar, the best time of year to go solar, the most active companies working in the space, and more.

The Long Island market is the largest in the state of New York, with over 35% of the state’s solar activity happening on the Island. Reasons for this include high utility rates, support from state policy, adequate roof space, and an increased focus on resiliency after superstorm Sandy. Over the last five years, Long Island contractors reported in this data handled more than 38,000 solar applications. In particular, 2015 saw a major surge of applications. In fact, Long Island saw 21 times more applications for solar power in 2015 than just a few years prior in 2012.

The town of Lindenhurst has seen the largest number of solar applications in the last five years. Lindenhurst residents submitted more than 1,500 applications and continue to express interest in switching to solar power. West Babylon came in at the second spot with more than 1,190 applications followed closely by Bay Shore, whose residents submitted more than 1,150 applications. Other towns in the top ten included Brentwood, Levittown, Deer Park, Massapequa, Valley Stream, Holbrook, and Elmont.

While we see a steady flow of solar applications come in year-round from the various Long Island towns, there are certain times of year when it seems that Long Island residents are the most eager to install solar panels for their homes or businesses. In fact, the month of August received 1.9 times as many solar applications as the month of February. Other popular months include April, June, and December.

Results also show that EmPower Solar is in the top ten solar companies on Long Island in terms of volume and has the lowest cancellation rate than all other companies at only 3%.

While 2016 and 2017 didn’t see as much regional growth as previous years, the local solar industry is stronger than ever. While larger and national companies are beginning to exit the space, companies like EmPower Solar with a local home base are expanding and taking up more market share each year.

Future changes to Long Island’s solar policy, including the introduction of new programs like Community Solar, will allow thousands of Long Island residents to go solar in 2018 who were previously ineligible for typical solar rooftop programs.

“We are more confident than ever about the future of solar deployment on Long Island,” said David Schieren, CEO of SunPower by EmPower Solar. “Since founding the company in 2003, I have witnessed incredible growth of renewables on Long Island. I am certain that in the future we can achieve a grid comprised of clean energy and I am excited to play a large role in that.”

We’re thrilled to be part of a community who is taking such large strides towards achieving energy independence, thus strengthening the regional economy, improving public health, and saving money.  If you’re interested in finding out about other communities doing their part, learn about the greenest cities in the US.