NYC Solar Summit 2010
Solar Empowerment Zones announced at NYC Solar Summit 2010
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Making the transition to cleaner energy, such as solar, just got a little easier in New York City with the creation of three ‘Solar Empowerment Zones’. The initial Zones: ‘Staten Island East, ‘Downtown Brooklyn’ and ‘Greenpoint-Gateway’, were announced at the New York City Solar Summit on June 8, 2010.
Building NYC's ‘Solar Pipeline’ with a Smart Solar City Plan
Tria Case, University Director of Sustainability at CUNY, was the Chairwoman of the NYC Solar Summit. “As environmental concerns stemming from the Gulf Coast overwhelm our Nation, never has it been clearer that the United States must transition to clean energy sources,” said Case. “Through the NYC Smart Solar City project, we are building the ‘Solar Pipeline’, which includes a Solar Map and Solar Empowerment Zones that will help us make significant advances to integrating solar into this nation’s largest city and most complex grid.”
“In PlaNYC, the City’s long-term blueprint for a greener, greater New York, we set ambitious targets for upgrading the City’s aging energy infrastructure so we can stay competitive with other cities around the world,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We also want to increase the use of renewable energy sources, including solar power. We’ve cut through the red tape that used to bog down solar projects, and there is now 3.5 megawatts of solar power installed on City rooftops, a number we want to increase significantly.”
The City University of New York, through Sustainable CUNY, annually convenes the New York City Solar Summit. During the day long event, held at John Jay College in Manhattan, the NYC Smart Solar City plan was rolled out along with preview screenshots of a NYC ‘Solar Map’. (Solar Map) The Summit also presented details on the NYC Smart Grid, solar policies and incentives and the latest in supporting technologies and battery storage. Speakers that included Congressman Maurice Hinchey, NYC Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri and Councilman Daniel R. Garodnick addressed the audience of over 500 NYC solar stakeholders.
"Throughout our nation's history, New York City has always been the city that all other American cities look up to. Now, with the help of Sustainable CUNY and many other strong partners, New York City will serve as a model for innovative ways to utilize solar energy," Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) said. "If there's one thing the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has shown us, it's that our country's dependence on dirty fossil fuels is unsustainable. The swift transition to clean energy is not only inevitable; it is essential and vitally important to maintaining America's role as a leader in the global economy. With smart policies and sustained investments, we can go from importing oil from Saudi Arabia to installing solar panels from New York's Hudson Valley. This must happen and I'm confident that it will."
“As part of the initiatives released by Mayor Bloomberg to grow the City’s green economy, establishing these solar zones will help facilitate solar installations and target them where it makes most sense,” said New York City Economic Development President Seth W. Pinsky. “This will provide not only environmental benefits, but also help create green jobs in the New York City solar industry.”
Con Edison is excited to be part of the collaboration with Sustainable CUNY and the Solar America Cities team that has produced these new and innovative initiatives,” said John Mucci, VP of Manhattan Electric Operations, Con Edison. “We continue to encourage our customers to use renewable energy resources and become our smart energy-efficient partners."
Morning Speakers
Daniel R. Garodnick
New York City Council Member
Robert D. LiMandri, Commissioner
NYC Department of Buildings
Report Card on NYC Solar, Solar Map
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Tria Case, University Director of Sustainability &
Executive Director Center for Sustainable Energy
Solar Empowerment Zone Panel
Moderator Alison Kling, NYC Solar Coordinator
City University of New York
Margarett Jolly, DG Ombudsman,
Con Edison
Tate Rider, Senior Project Manager, Renewable Energy
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Steven Caputo, Policy Advisor
Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability
Afternoon Keynote
Introduction
John Mucci, VP of Manhattan Electric Operations
Con Edison
Keynote Speaker
Congressman Maurice Hinchey
Roadmap for Implementing Solar in NYC
John Lee, RA, LEED AP Technical Affairs Division
NYC Department of Buildings/Permitting
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Jeff Peterson, Program Manager, Clean Energy Research and Market Development
NYSERDA
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Denise Nelson, Director of Strategic Planning
Con Edison
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Thomas J. Pigott, Battalion Chief, Technology Management
NYC Fire Department of New York
Solar Technology, Monitoring & Storage
Moderator J. Jared Haines, President
Mercury Solar Systems
Adrian De Luca, Vice President Sales & Marketing
Locus
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Dan Steingart, Founding Member CUNY Energy Institute
Assistant Professor, City College of New York, CUNY <pdf>
Jake Garcia, GIS Web Developer for NYC Solar Map,
Center for Advanced Research of Spatial Information (CARSI),
Hunter College, CUNY
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Solar and the NYC Smart Grid
Moderator Stacey Harwood, Policy Analyst
Public Service Commission
Kate Anderson, Senior Engineer
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
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Marie Berninger, Engineer, 3G System of the Future
Con Edison
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Michael Jung, Policy Director
Silver Springs Networks