About the Solar Map

View the NYC Solar Map Here

The NYC Solar Map is an interactive online tool that allows users to estimate the solar energy potential for every building in New York City’s five boroughs by inputting an address.  The map also highlights existing solar installations, displays real-time solar energy production citywide, and allows users to estimate the costs, incentives, and payback period for investing in solar.


If you have installed solar on your home or property and would like the installation to be included on the map, Contact Us. If your system is located in a Solar Empowerment Zone, you may also be eligible for a free data acquisition system.

Register your existing system to be displayed on the NYC Solar Map »

 



Solar Map LiDAR

  LiDAR data visualization showing how points are used to construct a 3D model of the city.

 

NYC Solar map background

Sustainable CUNY, via its partnership with NYC, is using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to create a NYC Solar Map. The data is being used to build a detailed model of the city, including building rooftops, footprints, and tree shading. This model is the basis for estimating the amount of solar energy that falls on each square meter of the five boroughs, and determining the solar energy potential for every building citywide. The NYC Solar Map is being developed by the Center for Advanced Research of Spatial Information (CARSI) at CUNY’s Hunter College with data collected in April of 2010 by Sanborn Map Company, and technical support from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Consolidated Edison Company of New York. The Solar Map will be hosted here on the Sustainable CUNY web site.

With Flyovers, a Solar Map of New York >>

New York Times
A plane equipped with a laser system made nine post-midnight flights recently in an effort to map the city and collect information...

A 'Solar Map' of New York City >>

New York Times
The view during an aerial mapping mission over New York City. Using a technology called Light Detection and Ranging, the city plans to...

Solar Maps HelP Foster Sustainable Cities >>

Renewable Energy World
Solar energy is more accessible to Americans than ever before. There are federal tax credits, cheaper photovoltaic systems on the market and hefty rebates....

A solar map of the new york skyline >>

The Wall Street Journal
As part of an effort to convince more New Yorkers to install solar panels on rooftops, the City University of New York has created a color coded digital map of the city...