SOURCE:
December 18, 2019
A new report says some Long Island residents are finding it harder than others to tap into solar energy for their homes.
Citizens Campaign for the Environment released its 2019 Solar Report Card – a study that ranked 19 Long Island municipalities on how "solar friendly" each one was.
According to the study – Long Beach, East Hampton, Southampton, Smithtown and Huntington were found to use a streamlined application process with little or no fees, as well as a reasonable turnaround time.
The municipalities that were found to obstruct solar development included Floral Park, Garden City, Babylon and the Town of Brookhaven. They were found to have charged hundreds of dollars in fees and made the permit process and turnaround time cumbersome and time-consuming.
“The village and the towns were never supposed to be profiting off of solar nor obstructing solar. They should be encouraging solar,” says Adrienne Esposito, of the Citizens Campaign.
Solar industry experts say one in 25 homes on Long Island are powered by the sun. They say that number could double or triple if municipalities lessened restrictions.