New York is taking another step closer to achieving its renewable energy goals.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul attended a ribbon cutting Tuesday at Hofstee Solar Farm, where she touted solar energy as a move toward a bright future.

“We have three gigawatts of solar installed across the state," Hochul said. "That is a milestone we hoped to achieve. Three gigawatts of solar is enough to power half a million homes."

The new solar farm in Bethel is the largest community solar project in the Mid-Hudson Region, capable of generating 6.1 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 1,000 homes.

"These initiatives, saying that we as a state are going to save our planet, our environment and hand it off better than we found it to the next generation,” Hochul said.

With the completion of this solar farm, combined with the projects that are currently under development, the state is 95% of the way toward achieving Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s goal to install six gigawatts of solar energy generation by 2025.

“We’re well ahead of schedule, but also really seeing the benefits of this resource as those we want to expand,” says NYSERDA President Doreen Harris.

NYSERDA counts more than 150,000 solar projects across the state, a number that's growing.

“New York is strongly committed to addressing climate change, and solar energy is a critical part of that achievement," Harris said.

Since the launch of the NY-Sun initiative in 2011, solar has grown 2,100% statewide, and is now 69% cheaper.

State officials say it's also responsible for approximately 12,000 jobs.