New York Urged to Accelerate Rooftop Solar Adoption

Proposed ASAP Act aims to double state's solar goal and streamline grid connections

Jan. 28, 2026 at 3:15pm

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A new bill called the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) Act has been proposed in New York to double the state's rooftop and community solar goal, and cut red tape to lower the costs of getting solar projects connected to the grid. Advocates say the ASAP Act can deliver lower electricity bills for households and more clean energy on the state's power grid.

Why it matters

As the federal government continues to prioritize fossil fuel interests, the ASAP Act offers New York a chance to rapidly expand local, affordable solar power and create thousands of clean energy jobs. Distributed solar projects have already shown benefits like lower bills, cleaner air, grid resilience, and community investments, but political and regulatory hurdles are slowing progress.

The details

The ASAP Act (S6570 and A8758) would double New York's rooftop and community solar goal and enact reforms to streamline the process of connecting new solar projects to the grid. This would unlock gigawatts of local clean energy and deliver an estimated $1 billion in annual savings for ratepayers across the state. The bill would also create an additional 15,000 solar jobs on top of the nearly 19,000 already in New York's solar and storage industry.

  • The ASAP Act has been proposed for consideration in the current New York legislative session.

The players

ASAP Act

A proposed bill (S6570 and A8758) that would double New York's rooftop and community solar goal and streamline grid connections to accelerate local solar adoption.

Kate Selden

Works at Solar One, an environmental nonprofit focused on sustainable and resilient urban environments.

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What they’re saying

“The ASAP Act can deliver two things New Yorkers urgently need: lower bills for households and more clean electrons on an increasingly strained power grid.”

— Kate Selden, Works at Solar One (citylimits.org)

What’s next

The ASAP Act has been proposed in the current New York legislative session and lawmakers will consider whether to pass the bill into law.

The takeaway

Passing the ASAP Act would allow New York to rapidly scale up affordable, local solar power, delivering bill savings for households, creating thousands of clean energy jobs, and strengthening the state's power grid with more renewable energy - all without adding to the state budget.