Solar by state
Solar in New York, by the numbers
Utilities and their rates, adoption, ten years of growth, batteries, ownership, state rules and installer licensing in New York, from federal 2024 data.
New York in brief
3.06% of New York homes had rooftop solar in 2024, the 15th-highest of 51 (3.55% nationally). Power cost 24.43¢/kWh, above the national 16.48¢, and the average system was 6.93 kW. Consolidated Edison Co-NY serves 41.7% of homes.
Where does New York stand out?
The four measures, beyond price and adoption, on which New York sits furthest from the middle of the ranking.
New York solar in numbers, 2024
Every New York figure next to the national one, with its place in the ranking (highest first, out of the jurisdictions reporting it).
| Measure | New York | United States | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes with a metered rooftop system | 3.06% | 3.55% | 15th-highest of 51 |
| Rooftop systems counted | 226,979 | 5,077,543 | 4th-highest of 51 |
| Average system size | 6.93 kW | 6.74 kW | 18th-lowest of 51 |
| Residential price | 24.43¢/kWh | 16.48¢/kWh | 7th-highest of 51 |
| Average monthly bill | $139.53 | $142.26 | 23rd-highest of 51 |
| Use per home | 6,854 kWh/yr | 10,359 kWh/yr | 6th-lowest of 51 |
| Systems with a battery | 1.76% | 5.86% | 23rd-highest of 47 |
| Leased or on a PPA | 36.3% | 29.1% | 7th-highest of 38 |
| Growth in systems, five years | 13.1% a year | — | 8th-lowest of 51 |
| Minutes without power per customer | 477 | 297 (median state) | 20th-highest of 51 |
| Homes on a time-varying rate | 2.5% | 11.1% | 23rd-highest of 51 |
| Installed rooftop capacity | 1,572.5 MW | 34,226 MW | — |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861, 2024 final release, retrieved 2 September 2026. The New York ratios and ranks are HyreSolar calculations from EIA inputs.
Which utility serves New York, and what does it charge?
The 8 largest utilities selling to New York homes, by residential customers, with the price full-service customers paid and how many run net-metered solar.
| Utility | Type | Homes served | Price per kWh | Use per home, monthly | Net-metered systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated Edison Co-NY | Investor-owned; wires, 89% on its own supply | 3,064,038 (41.7%) | 35.66¢ | 371 kWh | 70,078 (2.3%) |
| Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation | Investor-owned; wires, 93% on its own supply | 1,532,294 (20.9%) | 17.22¢ | 644 kWh | 25,414 (1.7%) |
| Long Island Power Authority | State authority; wires, 100% on its own supply | 1,029,955 (14.0%) | 24.57¢ | 739 kWh | 88,389 (8.6%) |
| New York State Electric & Gas Corporation | Investor-owned; wires, 93% on its own supply | 792,300 (10.8%) | 18.32¢ | 728 kWh | 10,935 (1.4%) |
| Rochester Gas & Electric Corporation | Investor-owned; wires, 84% on its own supply | 351,481 (4.8%) | 18.76¢ | 674 kWh | 2,805 (0.80%) |
| Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation | Investor-owned; wires, 85% on its own supply | 270,859 (3.7%) | 25.14¢ | 667 kWh | 16,304 (6.0%) |
| Orange & Rockland Utils | Investor-owned; wires, 81% on its own supply | 211,011 (2.9%) | 23.31¢ | 691 kWh | 13,036 (6.2%) |
| Village of Fairport | Municipal | 16,462 (0.22%) | 6.69¢ | 1,171 kWh | None reported |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 2024, Sales to Ultimate Customers and Net Metering, utility level, retrieved 5 October 2026. Shares are of 7,349,064 New York residential accounts. Each New York price is residential revenue divided by sales for full-service customers (HyreSolar calculation); a wires company’s price is its default-service price.
What do the New York utility figures mean for a solar quote?
EIA-861 lists 15 utilities serving homes in New York in 2024, across 7,349,064 residential accounts. The three largest, Consolidated Edison Co-NY, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation and Long Island Power Authority, served 76.5% of those homes. By ownership: investor-owned utilities 84.7% and state power authorities 14.0%.
647,461 New York homes (8.8%) bought their energy from 57 competitive suppliers, while the local utility kept delivering it. On a supplier, the energy price on your bill is the supplier’s, so price a solar quote against your own bill rather than the utility prices in the table.
Consolidated Edison Co-NY, the largest, served 3,064,038 New York homes (41.7%). Its full-service residential customers paid 35.66¢ per kWh, above the New York average of 24.43¢, and used 371 kWh a month on average. 70,078 of its customers ran net-metered rooftop solar, 2.3% of its homes against 3.06% statewide.
Among the 12 New York utilities with at least 5,000 residential customers and a full-service price, the price ran from 5.02¢ at City of Plattsburgh to 35.66¢ at Consolidated Edison Co-NY.
At the New York average of 6,854 kWh a year, that 30.64¢ gap is worth about $2,100 a year (our arithmetic), so the same system offsets more money in one territory than the other.
Price a quote on your own utility’s rate, not the 24.43¢ New York average.
Rooftop solar is concentrated: Long Island Power Authority alone accounts for 88,389 net-metered residential systems, about 39% of the 226,979 counted in New York, and 9 New York utilities reported any at all.
What does power cost in New York, and why does it matter?
Residential electricity in New York averaged 24.43¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, the 7th-highest of 51 and above the national 16.48¢. New York sits in the top quarter on price, so power used on site replaces power bought at well above the national rate.
The average New York household bill was $139.53 a month ($1,674 a year), the 23rd-highest of 51, against $142.26 nationally. That $1,674 is the ceiling on what solar could save a typical New York home, before fixed monthly charges.
Only 2.5% of New York homes were on a time-varying rate in 2024 (11.1% nationally), so a flat rate is the likely starting point. 74.1% of New York residential meters were smart meters (83.8% nationally), and a time-varying rate needs one. How time-of-use changes solar.
How many New York homes have solar?
New York had 226,979 rooftop systems on net metering in 2024, across 7,420,214 residential accounts: 3.06% of homes, the 15th-highest of 51. Adoption in New York sits above the middle of the 51, so there is a working installer market to choose between.
The New York market counted 23,177 more systems in 2024 than in 2023 and has grown 13.1% a year over five years, the 8th-lowest of 51. Where growth has turned nationally.
How has New York solar changed since 2014?
New York counted 25,637 net-metered rooftop systems in 2014 and 226,979 in 2024, 8.9 times as many. The share of homes with one moved from 0.36% to 3.06%. The biggest one-year addition came in 2023, with 27,943 more systems than the year before.
| Year | Rooftop systems | Share of homes | Average size | Residential price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 25,637 | 0.36% | 6.5 kW | 20.07¢ |
| 2016 | 74,305 | 1.04% | 6.6 kW | 17.58¢ |
| 2018 | 106,966 | 1.49% | 6.9 kW | 18.52¢ |
| 2020 | 136,532 | 1.89% | 6.7 kW | 18.36¢ |
| 2022 | 175,859 | 2.39% | 6.9 kW | 22.08¢ |
| 2024 | 226,979 | 3.06% | 6.9 kW | 24.43¢ |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 annual files 2014–2024, net-metered residential systems, retrieved 2 September 2026. New York shares and sizes are HyreSolar calculations.
What does the New York trend mean for a savings estimate?
Over the same years the New York residential price went from 20.07¢ to 24.43¢ per kWh, up 22%, and the average system from 6.5 kW to 6.9 kW. With New York prices up 22% across ten years, a savings estimate that assumes steep yearly rate rises is assuming more than this record shows.
How big is a typical New York system?
The average New York system was 6.93 kW in 2024, the 18th-lowest of 51, against 6.74 kW nationally. New York homes used 6,854 kilowatt-hours a year each, the 6th-lowest of 51.
A New York home using 6,854 kWh is an average, not a design input: size from your own twelve months of bills and usable roof with cost by system size and the system size calculator.
Who owns the systems in New York?
In New York, 36.3% of systems were third-party owned in 2024: leased, or on a power purchase agreement (PPA), rather than owned by the household. That is the 7th-highest of 38, against 29.1% nationally.
Leases and power purchase agreements are a large share of the New York market, so expect one to be offered alongside a purchase. Whoever owns a New York system claims any tax credit on it: Section 48E explained.
Do New York homes add batteries?
In New York, 1.76% of solar systems were paired with a battery in 2024 (4,006 systems), the 23rd-highest of 47. New York’s share is well under half the national 5.86%.
On reliability, the average New York customer went 477 minutes without power in 2024 counting major storms, and 143 minutes without them. The median state saw 297. Outages in every state.
Whether a battery pays in New York turns on your utility’s export credit and your own outage history: what a home battery does.
Which New York solar laws have we read?
New York statutes we read ourselves. Any rule not listed here is one we have not read, not one that does not exist.
Property tax on the added value
A 15-year exemption of the increase in value; any county, city, town or village may opt out. Applies to systems built before January 1, 2030.
RPTL § 487. Read at source September 2, 2026. Property tax exemptions
How do you check a solar company’s license in New York?
We checked 7 New York solar companies from June to August 2026 against NYSERDA’s NY-Sun program, since New York issues no state contractor license. None showed as inactive in the program when checked.
Ask which license a company holds, then confirm the number with the issuing authority yourself.
These counts describe the companies we checked on those dates, not every company in New York, and a license current then may have lapsed since. How to verify a solar license.
Which states are closest to New York on adoption?
The six jurisdictions nearest to New York’s 3.06% share of homes with rooftop solar.
Where do the New York numbers come from?
The New York figures are HyreSolar calculations from the Form EIA-861 annual files: 226,979 net-metered residential systems counted against 7,420,214 residential accounts, sizes as means, and 15 utility-level rows for the utility table, matched to net-metering records by EIA utility number.
The method and limits cover all 51; the New York row is in the data as a CSV.
No New York figure here is an estimate for one home: your roof, usage, utility tariff and tax position decide that.
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Questions
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