Mayor de Blasio has just received a huge boost towards his goal of creating 100 megawatts of renewable energy on public buildings by 2025 with the addition of an expansive solar installation atop one of the buildings at Brooklyn Navy Yard.
ConEdison Solutions, the subsidiary brand of Con Edison that offers renewal energy alternatives, has delivered a new 3,152-panel solar rooftop onto Building 293 that will generate 1.1 million kilowatts hours of energy per year. This is the equivalent of saving 76,000 gallons of gasoline annually and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 1.4 million pounds.
"As a home to 300 businesses and growing, we’re always looking for ways to be greener and more energy efficient," said Brooklyn Navy Yard President David Ehrenberg. "The Yard is already on the cutting edge of technology and manufacturing, and with this solar installation we can now call the Yard a leader in renewable energy as well." Not only is the project a step in the right direction towards creating a more sustainable New York, the installation is one of the largest of its kind in New York City.
Brooklyn Navy Yard lucked up and didn’t have to pay for the new panels since New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) provided $625,864 in project incentives.
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is also working on a sustainability agenda. The authority is pledging to generate 25 megawatts of power by installing roughly 2.5 million square feet of solar panels by 2025. That’s enough to power 6,600 apartments.