State and federal tax incentives are making it cheaper than ever to get solar panels. The government will now pay up to half the installation cost, and that’s led to a solar energy boom in New York State. According to the state public service commission, applications for solar arrays have increased almost tenfold in the last five years.

Part of that success is thanks to “solarize” groups. State-sponsored campaigns like Solarize Canton and Solarize Tri-Lakes have been helping people get solar panels since last summer. A year later, most of those campaigns are still going strong.

There are now five campaigns promoting solar power in the North Country. Each one has a grant from NYSERDA, the state’s energy agency. They hold info sessions on how to get subsidies and tax credits. They also have contracts with official installers, solar companies that have been vetted to make sure they’ll give people a good deal.

Solarize Adirondack Coast is the new group out of Plattsburgh. Its campaign kicked off a few weeks ago with a workshop. “We had a soft goal in our minds of a hundred installations in this, which would be great. But if ten happen that would be good. Every time someone goes solar, they’re reducing their need for other carbon-based fuels,” said lead organizer Trevor Cole.

About 60 people came, and a lot of them were like Gabe Alexandrou from West Plattsburgh. He’s wanted the panels on his house for years, but it always seemed too expensive and complicated. “It was kind of a mystery in the past. What do I have to do? Who do I have to contact? What tax benefits are there, and so on and so forth,” he said.

Alexandrou said the session answered his questions. The price tag is different for everyone. For Alexandrou’s house, it’s about $20,000. Tax incentives knock that price down to $12,000. The solar panels will pay themselves off in less than 10 years, he said. “From an environmental standpoint it’s great, and obviously from an economic standpoint it’s great.” Sold. Alexandrou and his wife signed a contract with the installer, and they hope to have solar panels on their roof by the fall. “It’s finally within our reach,” Alexandrou said.

The Adirondack Coast group is brand new. So is the group in Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County, and Solarize 7+ in Washington County.

Two groups that have been around for longer have been really successful. Canton volunteers say they helped set up 36 solar arrays. In the Tri-Lakes, they set up 52 projects last year, and eight so far this year.

One project that didn’t go well was Solarize Akwesasne. Out of 26 campaigns statewide, that was the only one that was kind of a flop. According to state officials, there was only one solar array installed. “It was disappointing. People were upset,” said Retha Herne with the Akwesasne Housing Authority. She said lots of people on the reservation wanted the panels, but then, the private financing needed for people to participate in the project fell through. “They might have thought there was a risk in making installations on reservation land,” she said.

It’s not really clear what went wrong with that campaign, but Herne has moved on. She got right to work finding a different way to bring in solar power. Earlier this year, Akwesasne got $1.6 million in federal grants for a new solar farm. It will mostly service the Sunrise Acres housing complex for low income, elderly people. “Plus, we would reach out to low-income, single-family housing, and we’re hoping to be able to supplement their bills. We’re talking from 20-30 percent,” Herne said.

She hopes construction will start early next year. In the meantime, expect to see solarize volunteers and solar advocates in other parts of the North Country. They’ll be holding info sessions, tabling at farmers’ markets, and trying to get you to go solar.