BILL NUMBER: S8696
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring the state
university of New York to install solar canopies on its campuses
 
PURPOSE:
Requires the State University of New York to install solar canopies on
its parking facilities.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the education law to add a new section 1266-n that
requires the SUNY trustees to calculate the total area of parking facil-
ities (in KM') suitable for solar canopy development. This data will
then be used to design a distributed solar energy goal of 75% solar
canopy coverage on suitable parking facilities by 2040. Section
1.4 of the bill requires all new parking projects are built with solar
canopies unless the 75% goal has already been reached.
Section 2 states the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Solar energy developments require large surface areas that place pres-
sure on available land and add competition to New York land-use. Plac-
ing solar canopies on state-owned parking facilities enables dual land
use on already-cleared land, reducing conflicts between solar develop-
ment and other land uses and the amount of tree-clearing or land clear-
ing required to install solar in the state. Solar developments also
deliver cobenefits like electricity generation, vehicle shade, and
weather protection. Placing a target of 75% solar coverage by 2040
allows stakeholders to anticipate and prepare for new solar infrastruc-
ture, all while promoting the ambitions set in New York State's CLCPA.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately after becoming law

Statutes affected:
S8696: 355 education law