New York a solar power leader thanks—in par—to corporate support for solar

New York State has become a solar power leader in the U.S., and has been helped along by support from the corporate sector, including investment banking firm Morgan Stanley which recently completed a solar project at a company parking structure.

By Diane Mettler

Just like a home run in the bottom of the ninth at a Yankees game, New York’s recent solar milestone knocked it out of the park. It wasn’t just a success for the environment, but it has created jobs, investment, and energy resilience. 

As a global financial center, New York City is home to 52 Fortune 500 companies, including investment bank Morgan Stanley, which has helped to contribute to New York State’s growing tally in solar power production.

This past fall, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that 6 gigawatts (GW) of distributed solar has been installed across the state. This accomplishment was remarkable on several levels. It was an ambitious goal, with New York achieving the State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act statutory goal—and they hit their goal one year ahead of schedule. 

New York has a considerable amount of solar potential and has consistently been in the top 10 U.S. solar markets in terms of solar power generation. The state has policies in place to promote solar investment, including a feed-in tariff through Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and net metering.

By year end, New York had a total of 6,657 MW of solar power, ranking it ninth among U.S. states for solar power installations. That represents enough solar installed to power some 1,156,239 homes. The total solar investment in the state is estimated at $13.8 billion.

The solar power generation has far-reaching impacts. It not only benefits homes, business owners and off-takers of community solar projects, as it is enough to power that million-plus homes, but it also means that New York is growing into one of the strongest solar markets in the nation.

Stop work order lifted, New York’s Empire Wind project resumes construction

Construction has now resumed on a major renewable energy project off the coast of New York State, a multi-billion-dollar offshore wind power project.

Empire Offshore Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Norway-based Equinor ASA, was informed in May by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that the stop work order has been lifted for the Empire Wind project, allowing construction activities to resume.

In a controversial move, construction on the fully permitted $5 billion project was halted in April, after a stop work order was issued by the BOEM. It is said to be New York’s largest infrastructure project in 50 years.

“We appreciate the fact that construction can now resume on Empire Wind, a project which underscores our commitment to deliver energy while supporting local economies and creating jobs,” said Anders Opedal, President and CEO of Equinor ASA.

Opedal said the solution to remove the stop work order will save thousands of American jobs and provides for continued investments in energy infrastructure in the U.S.

“I am grateful to Governor Kathy Hochul for her constructive collaboration with the Trump Administration, without which we would not have been able to advance this project and secure energy for 500,000 homes in New York,” he said.

“I would like to thank Norwegian Prime Minister Støre and Minister of Finance Stoltenberg for their support at a critical time, and that the Minister of Finance raised the situation with the U.S. administration,” added Opedal.

The stop work order was issued in mid-April. Following dialogue with regulators and federal, state, and city officials, the stop work order was lifted and construction activities resumed.

The benefits of the project go far beyond New York, says the company. “Empire Wind brings supply chain investments in states across the U.S. including New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas and South Carolina,” said Molly Morris, President of Equinor Wind US.

Empire aims to be able to execute planned activities in the offshore installation window in 2025 and reach its planned commercial operation date in 2027. The company said it will engage with suppliers and regulatory bodies to reduce the impact of the stop work order.

After a competitive process, the U.S. government first leased Empire a designated area of the outer continental shelf off the coast of New York in 2017. After an extensive environmental review process, the government approved the plan to build a commercial offshore wind farm in early 2024, after which construction started. Project financing was secured in 2024. The project is currently more than 30 percent complete.

Empire Wind is located 15-30 miles southeast of Long Island and spans 80,000 acres, with water depths of between approximately 75 and 135 feet. The lease was acquired in 2017. The project’s two phases, Empire Wind 1 and 2, have a potential capacity of more than 2 GW (810 + 1,260 MW), enough to power over one million New York homes.

Empire Wind 1 will feature 54 turbines capable of producing 810 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 500,000 homes. It will be the first offshore wind project to feed directly into New York City’s power grid. Its onshore terminal in South Brooklyn is halfway finished, and at-sea construction, the first step towards erecting wind turbines, had started in early April.

To get the full understanding of what the solar industry has brought to the state, this milestone represents the creation of over 14,000 solar jobs. These jobs span solar panel installation, electrical work, permitting and compliance, manufacturing and project finance—creating lasting careers in both urban and rural parts of the state. It has also supported more than 170,000 jobs in the clean energy sector. The state has also achieved $9.5 billion in private investment and has seen the completion of over 800 community solar projects.

The top purchasers of clean energy in the U.S. include Fortune 100 and 500 companies, largely comprised of utilities and major tech companies. In 2024, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Google collectively contracted 11.3 GW of clean power—nearly matching the total clean power capacity installed across Florida, the fifth largest clean power state in the U.S., and showcasing the criticality of clean energy to power the growing data center market. 

As a global financial center, New York City is home to 52 Fortune 500 companies—and a growing number of their customers are wanting to know what those companies are doing to be sustainable.
When it comes to what New York State has been doing in renewable energy, it’s clear the answer is: a lot. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) estimates the state had some 227,460 solar power projects at the end of 2024.

Completing this number of projects has required the collaboration and dedication of numerous companies over the years. It’s clear that the corporate sector can play an important role in advancing solar power in the U.S.

An example is New York-based investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS), a leader in the global financial market, and which is #61 on the Fortune 500 list. MS has helped to contribute to the state’s growing solar power tally—and has been involved in funding projects in other U.S. states. The firm has leveraged its financial expertise to make a significant impact in the renewable energy sector. Here are a few key milestones that highlight its contributions.

A 2.7-megawatt solar array was recently constructed on parking canopies at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s campus in Purchase, New York. It’s expected to save the carbon equivalent of burning more than 2.9 million pounds of coal or more than 4,700 barrels of oil as compared to utility power.

Morgan Stanley will benefit from 40 percent of the discounted, clean electric power generated from the project, with the remaining 60 percent to be offered to the local community and supporting local energy equity.

The collaboration of Altus Power, Inc., a commercial-scale provider of clean electric power, based in Stamford, Connecticut, and Brightcore Energy, a leader in developing and implementing renewable energy solutions for the commercial and institutional market, based in Armonk, New York, made the project a reality.

“We were pleased to team up with Altus and Brightcore to gain access to new clean energy at one of our marquee locations,” said Geoff Boulter, Global Head of Real Estate Services at Morgan Stanley. “This will not only further drive the operational sustainability goals of our Westchester campus, but it will also support our local communities by providing an additional source of clean, electric power.”

A six-acre, 820-kilowatt solar field at the same New York campus produces approximately 1,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. It offsets approximately five percent of the building’s total electricity use and up to 25 percent during peak production. 

The project was the result of a collaboration between the firm’s Corporate Services team and Morgan Stanley’s Commodities Solar Desk, known as MS Solar.

The project was partially funded by the NY-Sun initiative, which substantially expanded the use of solar energy in New York State. Funding was also provided through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

MS Solar was early into renewables in the U.S. rolling out the MySolar program in 2012, which provided funding for residential solar leases and works with major integrators of PV systems for homes in Arizona, California, Colorado and Hawaii.

“We are committed to providing solar solutions across the country and our MySolar and distributed generation programs reach a vast number of homeowners, business owners and municipal entities that wouldn’t otherwise choose renewable energy,” said Martin Mobley, Head of MS Solar. 

In 2023, company CEO James P. Gorman introduced the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing. The goal? To use innovation, thought leadership, and partnerships to help fund investments that support sustainable economic growth.

The Institute builds on Wealth Management’s existing Investing With Impact platform, which provides clients with a range of investment options designed to deliver strong financial returns while also generating positive social or environmental outcomes.

This expansion comes at a time when interest in sustainable investing is growing rapidly. Morgan Stanley recently reported that 77 percent of individual investors globally are interested in investing in companies or funds that pursue market-rate financial returns alongside positive social or environmental impact. Moreover, 57 percent of investors say their interest in sustainable investing has increased over the past two years, and 54 percent plan to increase their allocations to such investments in the coming year.

Morgan Stanley is also making investments in renewables-related energy storage. MS invested $82 million in Plus Power’s 90 MW energy Superstition energy storage facility in Gilbert, Arizona, in 2024. The facility helped enable electric grid stabilization in the Southwest during extreme weather while integrating more renewable energy.

“Plus Power welcomes Morgan Stanley’s support in accelerating standalone battery energy storage deployment in a market and location where our project can provide critical services,” said Josh Goldstein, Chief Financial Officer at Plus Power. “This investment is important to a project supporting a regional grid facing intense weather events and energy demand.”

With the success of this facility, other facilities could be built to stabilize again not only extreme heat, but population growth, new data centers, and the transition to electric heating.

New York State has consistently been in the top 10 U.S. solar markets in terms of solar power generation, as the state has policies in place to promote solar investment. By the end of 2024, New York had a total of 6,657 MW of solar power, ranking it ninth among U.S. states for solar power installations.

In 2023, Morgan Stanley and Santander each invested $260 million in a solar project with developer Energix.

These investments supported the construction and operation of six utility-scale solar projects across the U.S., with a total capacity of 416 MW.

The funding included a $260 million construction and term loan facility from Santander CIB and a $260 million tax equity investment from Morgan Stanley. Together, this financing generated enough power to supply over 400,000 homes.

In 2020, Greenbacker, also a New York-based com-
pany, secured a tax equity financing commitment from Morgan Stanley Renewables for a portfolio of solar energy projects totaling 95 MW in the U.S.
It’s efforts like these from Morgan Stanley and many other companies that have helped New York set a high solar bar for other states to follow. The stats speak for themselves.

• The distributed solar sector has seen over a 3,000 percent growth since 2011, which averages to 250 percent per year over the last 12 years.
• The state’s solar installations have reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road.
• At least 35 percent of the benefits from the NY-Sun program are targeted to disadvantaged homes with a goal of 40 percent.

Even though it now has more than 6.6 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, New York State isn’t slowing down. It’s looking ahead to 2030, and is aiming for 10 GW of distributed solar energy, which includes ground-mounted and rooftop solar on residential and commercial properties, as well as community solar projects.

New York isn’t slowing down. It’s looking ahead to 2030, and is aiming for 10 GW on distributed solar energy. This includes ground-mounted and rooftop solar on residential and commercial properties, as well as community solar projects.

The community projects work much like they do in other states. Homeowners, renters, businesses, and multifamily buildings can all access the benefits of solar power without installing panels on their property. The community solar projects generate renewable energy on behalf of multiple customers, who receive credits on their monthly electric bills for their share of the clean electricity that’s produced.

It’s not to say that solar hasn’t come with its own set of challenges, increased borrowing costs, visual impacts, a fluctuating political climate, and workforce concerns. But it appears that the state is focused on finding solutions. New York now joins the ranks of leaders like California is solar distribution and its achievement has cemented New York’s role in the national clean energy landscape.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris says, “As the top community solar market in the nation, New York State has provided a replicable model for others to deliver clean, low-cost renewable energy to more consumers. Our public-private partnerships are the catalysts which have helped us to achieve our 6 GW goal well ahead of target, trailblazing New York’s path to an equitable energy transition.”

 New York State Public Service Commission Chair Rory M. Christan agrees. “Hitting this 6 GW milestone is an important accomplishment. This is further evidence that distributed solar is a critically important piece of the equation.”

New York has hit a home run. And when it comes to solar—they are in the major leagues.

Q3 2025