NYSERDA Solar Quiz Misinformation
Roger Caiazza: I recently covered an article by Ken Girardin who broke the story of NY’s latest attempt to shore up public support for the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (Climate Act).
NYSERDA Solar Quiz Misinformation
I recently covered an article by Ken Girardin who broke the story of New York’s latest attempt to shore up public support for the Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (Climate Act). In brief, the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA) are hiring a public relations outfit, using $500,000 per year of public money, to “maintain a positive narrative” and “respond to negative viewpoints” about the state’s Climate Act. This article shows the likely result of that effort – NYSERDA’s Think You Know Solar – Take the Solar Quiz.
I have followed the Climate Act since it was first proposed, submitted comments on the Climate Act implementation plan, and have written over 400 articles about New York’s net-zero transition. I have devoted a page to solar issues that describes my concerns with solar development in New York. The opinions expressed in this post do not reflect the position of any of my previous employers or any other organization I have been associated with, these comments are mine alone.
The Climate Act established a New York “Net Zero” target (85% reduction in GHG emissions and 15% offset of emissions) by 2050. Despite the enormous impacts to energy affordability, threats to electric system reliability, and mandates affecting personal energy choices I believe many New Yorkers are unaware of the law. In 2023 transition recommendations were supposed to be implemented through regulation, Public Service Commission orders, and legislation. Not surprisingly, the aspirational schedule of the Climate Act has proven to be more difficult to implement than planned.
Solar Quiz
On March 21, 2024 I received an email announcing the Solar Quiz. This link is the web view version. In the rest of this section, I respond to its contents.
The quiz opens with the obligatory picture of roof-mounted solar panels.
The cheerful opening introductory paragraph leads off with the narrative: “free and abundant light” gives us electricity” from this “incredible clean energy technology”.
You may already know that solar panels convert the sun’s free and abundant light into electricity. Pretty great, right?
So, we thought we’d give you a quick quiz to test your solar smarts. Let’s see how much you really know about this incredible clean energy technology.
Sunlight may be a “free” energy source but there are costs to collect and use that energy. That detail must be in the next quiz which will come out when the geothermal energy source from Hell freezes over.
The entire Climate Act legislation and narrative is characterized by black and white cartoon descriptions. Consider the first quiz question:
Q: Do solar panels work on cloudy days?
A: Yes!
Because the panels collect light, they still function on cloudy days even though efficiency is somewhat reduced.
“Somewhat reduced”? A negligible amount or a lot? Let’s take a look at the potential range.
Their illustration:
My illustrations of today’s views from the NYS Mesonet Buffalometeorological station. This site is notable because it is surrounded by solar panels. I am not sure how much that affects whether the meteorological data collected are representative but it does let us address the question of solar variability on this worst case condition – cloudy and snow covered.
Buffalo March 23, 2024 14:15:28 UTC or 10:15:28 EDT
Buffalo March 23, 2024 17:20:27 UTC or 13:20:27 EDT
Here is a graph of the temperature (red, orange), dew point temperature (green), and solar insolation (yellow) over the last seven days ending 23 March 2024 at 16Z or Noon EDT. Regrettably the parameter of interest is in yellow.
Note that solar insolation is 170 watts per meter squared (W/m2) at 10:15 EDT in the first picture and 420 W/m2 at 13:20 EDT the time of the second picture. Reasons for the difference include the tine of day because the second picture is closer to solar noon and the clouds are darker which could mean they are thicker in the first picture. It would be interesting to see the effect of the snow on the panels if data from that solar facility could be obtained.
To guess the effect of clouds I looked at the last seven days of data from the same site. I have put arrows on the peak solar insolation for the last six days. Presumably there were three days without clouds because the solar insolation exceeded 800 W/m2. There were two days when the peak insolation was around 500 W/m2, one day when the peak was no more than 350 W/m2, and on the most recent day it appears that the data from the daily graph peaks a little over 400 W/m2. I guess the point is that even on a cloudy day solar power is “Somewhat reduced” to half and does not go to zero. I am sure that some power would be generated even when the panels are covered by snow but the reduction sure is more than “somewhat” reduced, closer to nearly zero is my guess.
Of course, solar is zero at night. Not to worry the solar quiz addresses this.
Q: If I have solar panels, will my house still have energy at night?
A: Yes.
Solar-powered homes collect excess energy and pass it to the grid for future use, and if you don’t have excess energy stored you pull energy from the grid at any time, like when it’s dark. Another option for night-time energy use is on-site battery storage, which collects excess energy and saves it for when it’s needed.
This is egregious misinformation. The electric system instantaneously balances load and generation. Any excess energy passed to the grid has to be used at that time or stored. In my opinion the worst subsidy for residential solar is the unacknowledged cost to provide grid energy when the sun does not shine. Somebody else is paying for the infrastructure (storage or alternative sources) necessary so that solar-equipped residences can “pull energy from the grid at any time”. Inevitably the “net-metering” rules will have to be changed so this subsidy is reduced or eliminated. The mention of on-site battery storage is a start, but the reality is that the largest reliability cost is associated with extreme conditions and providing enough solar panels and energy storage to start to address that problem is uneconomic for an individual. If this was not the case, then folks would be going off the grid entirely.
The next question has no interest to me:
Q: When was the first solar panel installed?
A: In 1883, by American inventor Charles Fritts in Manhattan.
Solar energy (the photovoltaic effect) was discovered in 1839 by Edmond Becquerel, a French physicist who studied light.
The next question is relevant. Consistent with the rest of the quiz the answer provides no nuances or specific information.
Q: How long do solar panels last?
A: About 25 years
The efficiency of solar panels decreases over time. However, a lot of factors contribute to lifespan, such as weather, installation, maintenance, and quality.
The narrative answer is that “most residential solar panels should operate for 25 years before degradation (or reduced energy production) is noticeable.” The National Renewable Energy Laboratory notes that “the rate of degradation is typically around 0.5% to 0.8 % per year but varies among different types and brands of solar panels.” If I define “noticeable” degradation as a 10% loss of efficiency, then at 0.5% per year the degradation is noticeable at 23 years and at 0.8% per year the degradation is noticeable at 15 years.
The next quiz question addresses solar panel land use.
Q: What is it called when land is used for both solar panels and agriculture?
A: Agrivoltaics
In some places, farmers are experimenting with grazing livestock (solar grazing), growing native grasses, and even fruits and vegetables around solar panel installations.
Sounds great. Note that they did not talk about agrivoltaics in New York. There is a reason. The State has set up the New York State Agricultural Technical Working Group to address this in New York but there has been no progress mandating this approach. As I will explain in the following discussion, I am unimpressed with that effort.
The last question in the quiz manages to get in a bit of bragging.
Q: Which U.S. state is the top community solar market in the country?
A: New York!
As of December 2023, more than two gigawatts of community solar have been installed in New York – enough to power nearly 400,000 homes.
Of course the point that they can power 400,000 homes only when the sun is shining is unmentioned.
New York’s Disgraceful Solar Implementation Record
So much for the quiz. How is New York’s solar implementation policy going?
I believe that the development of solar resources is considered above all other concerns which will not end well. I submitted comments on the Draft Scoping Plan two years ago calling for a moratorium of utility-scale solar development because the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (Ag & Market) policies on solar energy projects that protect prime farmland were being ignored and programs designed to protect prime farmland and reduce impacts were being developed but not implemented. Two years later the policies are still being developed and I estimate that 20 projects have permits to construct and only seven meet the Ag & Markets policy.
In their comments for solar project applications the Department of Ag and Markets prepared testimony has noted that “The Department’s goal is for projects to limit the conversion of agricultural areas within the Project Areas, to no more than 10% of soils classified by the Department’s NYS Agricultural Land Classification mineral soil groups 1-4, generally Prime Farmland soils, which represent the State’s most productive farmland.” The lack of a responsible solar implementation policy has meant that of the 20 projects with applications only seven meet this criterion as shown in my Solar Project Scorecard. These results show that it is possible to protect prime farmland, but that New York State has failed to mandate that all projects meet the reqirement. As far as I can tell, there are no provisions in any of the permitting requirements that mandate farmland protections consistent with Department of Ag & Markets recommendations.
If there are no specific requirements for protecting farmland then what about other mitigation strategies. One responsible solar siting mitigation strategy would be to combine agriculture and solar land use – agrivoltaics. Last October, the report Growing Agrivoltaics in New York was released.
The report outlines the results of a limited literature review to advance understanding of opportunities for agrivoltaics by reviewing New York State’s current agricultural landscape; the current situation of agrivoltaics pilots and programs; and solar design considerations related to integration of agricultural activities and solar power generation. In aggregation with additional State efforts to understand land-use implications of large-scale solar (LSS) development, results inform potential future actions to provide education on best practices for implementation of agrivoltaics projects in New York State.
The report provides good background information. It includes a good description of the permitting process. It mentions the New York State Farmland Protection Working Group which was formed in 2021 “to consider and recommend strategies to the State on the siting process of major renewable energy facilities and to minimize the impact of siting on productive agricultural soils on working farms”. It also notes that additional agrivoltaic research has been proposed. They managed to come up with a definition:
A simultaneous use of land for solar photovoltaic power generation and agricultural production of “crops, livestock, and livestock products” as that phrase is defined by Agriculture & Markets Law (AML) §301(2).
I am unimpressed because the report is long on research recommendations and short of any sign of urgency to implement anything.
The fact is that the drive to install as much as possible as quickly as possible is affecting agricultural lands across the state and local communities. One of the readers of my blog, Lenny Prezorski from the Cold Spring Farm in Schoharie County recently wrote me a note. The following is a lightly edited version.
Schoharie County like much of rural NY, is losing prime farmland to solar development. One project is under construction and another is seeking approval from ORES.
Last week our state and local officials held a news conference at the Salisbury dairy farm which adjoins the NextEra East Point solar project in the Town of Sharon. A number of impacts were discussed. This news article details those concerns. For example, the highway superintendent has been fighting with solar contractors since the project started. His efforts to correct the damage to town roads have fallen on deaf ears in Albany. Despite the claims from the developer, they continue to do as they may with no oversight.
On the same day as the news conference our local newspaper ran an article noting that the property for the project was up for sale. The article notes that the parcel has “1,100 acres on a working, income-producing farm, with a log cabin home, and “seeping vista views” stunning views of both the Mohawk Valley and Catskill Mountains.” However, There’s just one catch:
Three hundred thirty five of those acres, across eight parcels, are covered in solar panels as part of NextEra Energy’s 50-MW project mostly off Route 20 and Gilbert’s Corners Road, but also Pomella, Beech and Sakon Roads.
Coldwell Banker is listing the site at 485 Gilberts Corner Road for $15,350,000; the listing went up February 20.
The site, according to the description “is one of the largest working solar farms in all of New York State, secured by a 25-year lease with guaranteed lease payments totaling in excess of $20 million.
“This property portfolio consists of over 1,000 acres of farmland and solar arrays on eight separate tax parcels—including a working farm with barns and residences.
“The largest portion on this income-producing portfolio is from the 25-year lease on the solar panels, covering 355 acres.
Prezorski continues:
How deep are the pockets that these projects can be sold, I assume at a profit, before they are complete? I understand that Rock District Solar in the Town of Carlisle has been sold 2 or 3 times and it hasn’t even received approval.
It is too late for the Town of Sharon but it hopefully isn’t too late for the proposal in Carlisle.
Prezorski describes problems with the accelerated permitting process.
Rock District attempted to get local approval from the Carlisle Planning Board. During the public comment period I submitted a detailed report which exposed errors and omissions in the Environmental Assessment Form. Once appraised of these facts they immediately withdrew their application from the town and submitted it to Office of Renewable Energy Siting. I’ve prepared a report which primarily focuses on the loss the prime farmland and potential impact to groundwater resources in our karst landscape.
The EAF located the project in the wrong watershed. It neglected to document that runoff from the site flows directly into a sinkhole which feeds the longest cave system in NYS. The application submitted to ORES contains the same erroneous data. How do we ensure that NYS follows their own laws? This is the question I posed to our local leaders and to you too.
Unfortunately, I do not have any answer for the question how do we get the state to follow our own laws.
Concluding Remarks
The Think You Know Solar – Take the Solar Quiz is an example of mis-misplaced priorities of the Hochul Administration. The cute little public relations quiz demonstrably misinforms the public. Sunlight may be a “free” energy source but the costs to collect and use that energy are ignored. While it is encouraging that solar panels can generate electricity even on cloudy days the implications of reduced output are not addressed. Claiming that solar panels last for 25 years ignores that they are also expected to generate 10% less power in a shorter period. Finally, the answer to the question “will my house still have energy at night?” displays a lack of understanding of how the electric system works and downplays the enormous challenge and costs to provide that energy that are not covered by residential solar owners.
Meanwhile, back in reality the article describing the local stakeholder concerns with the state’s control over solar farm projects describes what is happening away from Albany. As noted previously, the developers are affecting roads and not fixing damage. The state is over-riding local code enforcement and safety issues are evident. In order to expedite renewable development, the State has implemented new permitting requirements that over-ride landowner rights and local government control.
I believe that this situation has led to a disgraceful solar siting process. Despite assurances prime farmland is not being protected. Proponents of “responsible solar siting” that includes things like agrivoltaics are long on talk and promises of more research but short on urgency to do anything to implement something. Prezorski explained that the expedited permitting process is enabling errors that could have significant consequences. Finally, the state has no requirements that the solar developments are constructed to meet the Scoping Plan performance expectations. As a result, even more solar development will be required to meet the generation and capacity requirements.
No amount of public relations investment to spin stories to be consistent with the Hochul Administration narrative are going to be able to hide the reality of the disgraceful utility-scale solar siting policies. Those policies are going to cause much more harm than acknowledged by the State.