Washington (Platts)--4Jan2012/555 pm EST/2255 GMT

Governor Andrew Cuomo Wednesday proposed quadrupling New York's solar capacity by 2013, and called on investors to fund $2 billion in new transmission infrastructure.

"We will increase competitive procurement of large, commercialized solar projects. And we will expand rebate programs for residential and commercial small-to-medium systems," said Cuomo, according to prepared remarks for his annual State of the State Address given Wednesday.

Cuomo acknowledged the high costs associated with developing solar relative to other renewables, adding that "we will keep an eye firmly on costs."

A bill was introduced in the 2011 legislative session that would have created a solar carve-out to New York's renewable portfolio standard, but failed to win passage.

Cuomo's announcement Wednesday seemed like an attempt to push his solar initiative through executive action, rather than the Legislature, according to Dan Hendricks, spokesman for New York League of Conservation Voters. Details were not immediately available explaining how Cuomo intends to accomplish his solar goal.

Greater clarity might occur when the New York State Research and Development Authority releases a study, due by the end of January, analyzing the costs and benefits of increasing solar capacity in the state, said Jackson Morris, senior policy adviser at the Pace Energy and Climate Center.

Cuomo also addressed the need for more transmission to connect renewable-heavy areas of the state with big population centers.

"We have an excess of generation capacity and tremendous wind power potential in Upstate and Western New York and north of the border in Quebec. We have tremendous energy needs downstate," he said.

Private companies should finance and build $2 billion in transmission infrastructure to create an "Energy Highway" system that would carry fossil-fuel generated electricity from Western New York, and also encourage new renewable projects, Cuomo said.

"Governor Cuomo's State of the State address clearly articulates the need for sustained investment in the energy infrastructure of New York state," Stephen G. Whitley, president and CEO of the New York Independent System Operator, said in a statement.

"Upgrades to the transmission system can make more effective use of statewide generating resources, including the renewable resources being planned and developed throughout upstate New York," he said.

--Geoffrey Craig, geoffrey_craig@platts.com