Thomas C. Zambito reports in The Poughkeepsie Journal that all those local hearings about new solar farms and changed regulations of small-scale solar energy generators is because New York saw 181 percent growth year-over-year in its non-residential solar power market, according to a report from a solar power trade group. Just in the first quarter of this year, another 42.2 megawatts were added in the state, enough power for 7,000 homes. New York now ranks in the top ten in solar in the U.S., the Solar Energy Industries Association report says. Several Hudson Valley town boards have enacted moratoriums on solar developments, or rewritten their regulations recently, because so many solar farms are being proposed and installed, often on agricultural land. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has pushed for New York to be half powered by wind, solar, or hydro power by 2030. Read the full story in The Poughkeepsie Journal.