Sustainable CUNY

New York City was designated a Solar America City in June 2007 under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America City Initiative. The NYC Solar America City Partnership, led by Sustainable CUNY, is comprised of the City University of New York, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Mayor’s Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability. The Partnership has been working together with key stakeholders such as Con Edison, the Department of Buildings, the New York Power Authority and NYSERDA to support large-scale solar energy market growth in NYC.

NYC Solar Map Now Live The NYC Solar Map, an online, interactive tool, helps New Yorkers understand the solar potential of their homes and businesses.

Solar Empowerment Zones The five Solar Empowerment Zones: Chelsea, lower East Side, Downtown Brooklyn, Greenpoint-Gateway, and Staten Island East are eligible for special benefits.

Installing Solar Resources to navigate the solar thermal and PV installation process from Incentives to Financing and Permitting are available to help system owners and installers navigate smoothly through the process.

Program Background

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has designated 25 major U.S. cities as Solar America Cities committed to accelerating the adoption of solar energy technologies. Sixteen of these cities, including NYC for their Smart Solar City Plan, received additional funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for special projects that tackle specific barriers to urban solar energy use. Best practices and lessons learned from the SolarAmerica Cities projects will be shared across the United States to help other local governments replicate successes. The Solar America Cities partnerships represent the foundation of DOE’s larger Solar America Communities program which is designed to increase the use and integration of solar energy in communities across the United States. Visit Solar America Communities online.