In 2025 and 2026, the CNY Regional Planning & Development Board will be actively conducting a community campaign series within the five counties of Central New York (Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego) as part of its “EnergySmart CNY” programming, effectively relaunching its solar and heat pump outreach and education programs (formerly known as Solarize CNY and HeatSmart CNY). The community campaigns will be open to anyone of any income located within the CNY region (Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties) to participate. There will be a targeted focus of partnership and outreach in at least one municipality or region within each of the five counties, primarily focusing on NYSERDA-designated Disadvantaged Communities (DAC). Community selection is happening concurrently with the RFP process.
We are aware that these are challenging times as incentives continue to shift. It is our hope that the community campaigns will help sustain interest and help the public be aware of currently available incentives.
Date of issue: 8/25/25
Response Due Date: 9/19/2025
Vendors who seek to participate should review the RFP and submit responses and inquiries to Aaron Otis at aotis@cnyrpdb.org
An Informational Webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 2nd at 4:00pm EST. Register here.
The Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board (CNY RPDB), lead contractor for New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)’s Central New York Regional Clean Energy Hub, is releasing this request for proposals (“RFP”) for rooftop solar installers and community solar providers to provide installation services or subscription opportunities to homes and businesses in Central New York (Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties) as part of CNY RPDB’s EnergySmart CNY Community Campaigns.
CNY RPDB, in partnership with other organizations including the Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) and Greater Syracuse Works (GSW) (collectively the CNY RPDB’s “EnergySmart CNY” program) and local community partners will encourage the installation of solar panels and subscription to community solar. Over the course of the next year, the EnergySmart CNY Community Campaigns will seek to increase the number of homes and businesses in Central New York connecting to solar energy through either installing on-site solar or subscribing to community solar farms.
CNY RPDB is seeking proposals from contractors that are interested in participating in the EnergySmart CNY Community Campaigns as trusted campaign partners to serve campaign participants, support on-site and community solar installations and technologies, and expand awareness of these technologies over the course of the program. The goals of the Solar portion of the EnergySmart CNY Community Campaigns include:
CNY RPDB invites responses from businesses (“installer/contractors”) who can provide services relating to subscribing accounts to community solar and on-site solar installations. CNY RPDB may select multiple installer/contractors to ensure adequate coverage of all Central New York.
The selected installer/contractor(s) will work collaboratively with the CNY RPDB’s EnergySmart CNY program to design and implement a 12-month campaign, which is expected to commence in October 2025. The selected installer/contractor(s) will be the recipient(s) of customer leads from the EnergySmart CNY Community Campaigns within their assigned campaign area and will be actively promoted as the EnergySmart CNY Community Campaigns’ competitively selected installer/contractor(s).
Respondents to the RFP that meet key criteria will be included in our larger reference guide to companies in the region doing this work and will be the foundation of any future partnership, even if not selected as a partner for this campaign.
RFP to be released September 2025, stay tuned! If you want to ensure you receive notice of the release of this RFP, email Aaron Otis, aotis@cnyrpdb.org