New York City is home to the largest public housing network in the United States. With all of that real estate, it is imperative that more forward environmental thinking go into how. Inside Climate News has an article today about the Big Apple’s plans to apply renewable power to their buildings.
In January, the authority will start reviewing bids for phase one of a project to increase the amount of solar power generated in the city. It's a small step, but one that could help grow the market for urban solar power. The goal is to install 25 megawatts of solar panels atop the city's public housing buildings, enough capacity to power 6,600 households, as part of New York City's 100 percent renewable commitment.
However, as Climate News explains, New York City’s Public Housing Authority (NYCHA) cannot use any of the power itself as they have a long term contract with Con Edison and so the hope is to provide solar energy space that can be leased by others in the community who cannot create their own solar energy.
"Our goal is to help solar power be accessible by anybody in New York City, which is not the case currently," said Daphne Boret-Camguilhem, senior program manager for energy and sustainability at NYCHA. By expanding the use of rootop solar, New York City would not only reduce its carbon footprint―the city has a goal to cut emissions 80 percent by 2050, and buildings are its largest sources of greenhouse gases―but also create renewable energy jobs for low-income residents and connect more communities to cleaner, cheaper power.
This goes in tandem with companies like Solstice that work on connecting people with solar arrays that they themselves would otherwise not be able to build or have access to because of the level of credit required to cover the upfront costs.