Jun 19 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Dan Miner Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.

A law that will likely make it financially sensible for businesses in New York state to power themselves with "green" technology hopped over an important hurdle Wednesday, according to state Sen. George Maziarz.

The law will allow a practice called net-metering -- which already exists for residents in the state. Now, any commercial enterprise with wind, solar or other forms of renewable energy are given a credit when they produce extra energy.

Previously, excess energy was released freely onto the grid, making the enormous initial investment for something like wind mills or solar panels less profitable over the long-term.

"All the major corporations are thinking green," said Maziarz, who mentioned Wal-Mart in particular as a company that has taken advantage of net-metering in other states and will likely do so now in New York. "A company like (Wal-Mart) is going to look at something like this. They want a positive public perception and they've got the money (to install renewable energy technology)."

The bill unanimously passed the Senate and appears likely for passage in the Assembly today, after which it will be sent to Gov. David Paterson for his signature, said Maziarz, R-Newfane, who chairs the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee and is the bill's main sponsor.

Kevin Schulte, who owns Ontario, N.Y.-based Sustainable Energy Developments, said his company has fielded hundreds of calls in the last few years from potential clients who have waited for New York state to make commercial "green" energy worthwhile financially.

Anything from ski resorts, water treatment plants, manufacturing facilities and public and private schools could be and likely could take advantage of the bill, he said.

"We're building 10 projects in Massachusetts (where commercial net-metering is allowed) as we speak," Schulte said. Later, he added, "This bill keeps my business in New York. There is a very real chance to move my business and its current 60 employees to somewhere with growth potential. This keeps us here for the foreseeable future."

Laws such as this one also stoke New York's fledgling but promising "green" energy industry, said Carol Murphy, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York.

"What's happened in other states that have enacted this, they've really seen a growth in business for solar and wind installers," Murphy said. "We've had a lot of instances from community colleges and universities in New York that are training the next generation of the work force for green-collar jobs."

Murphy pointed out that New York is the 15th windiest state in the country.

"We've got the resources, why not let our businesses and non-profits and schools benefit from it?" she said.