New York City’s Solar Energy Future
Part II:
Solar Energy Policies and Barriers in New York City
January 2007
Prepared by
The Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College
for
The City University of New York’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative
Acknowledgments This report was made possible through financial support from the City University of New York’s Million Solar Roofs Initiative under US Department of Energy contract # DE-FG41-05R110989, the Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College, and from Solar New York.
• The City University of New York (CUNY) began the Million Solar Roofs Initiative (MSRI) in partnership with the US Department of Energy’s Million Solar Roofs program in summer 2005. Under the MSRI, CUNY set a target to install 500 solar roofs in New York City by 2010. To meet this target, CUNY planned an outreach and education campaign that includes an assessment of the solar energy market in New York City, the identification of barriers to solar energy development, and the facilitation of solar projects throughout the City. The CUNY MSRI is being managed by the Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College.
• The Center for Sustainable Energy was founded in 2003 at Bronx Community College through a Congressional appropriation sponsored by the Honorable José Serrano. The Center’s mission is to promote a stronger economy and a healthier environment through education, training, and research focused on advanced and emerging energy technologies. These technologies include renewable energy systems like solar and wind power, energy efficiency technologies, and alternative fuel vehicles.
• Solar New York is an organization dedicated to accelerating New York’s transition to a solar energy economy. Solar New York seeks to identify the barriers to solar energy development and develop policy strategies to address them. Solar New York has partnered with the Center for Sustainable Energy and CUNY to fund the Million Solar Roofs Initiative in New York City. Solar New York is a program of Clean Energy Clean Environment, a non-profit organization.
2 CUNY Million Solar Roofs Initiative Steering Committee
The City University of New York would like to thank the members of the CUNY MSRI Steering Committee for their time and insights to help guide and shape this report
Gary Davidson, Executive Assistant to the Chairman New York State Public Service Commission
Jonathan Dickinson, Deputy Director New York City Office of Environmental Coordination
Christine Donovan, Executive Vice President New York Solar Energy Industries Association
Veronica Eady, Staff Attorney New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Adam Freed, Assistant Comptroller Office of the New York State Comptroller
Ashok Gupta, Air & Energy Program Director Natural Resources Defense Council
Stephen Hammer, Professor Columbia University
Sam Marcovici, Senior Engineer New York City Department of Buildings
Colin Murchie, Manager, Regulatory Affairs SunEdison, LLC
Anthony Pereira, President altPOWER
Jeff Peterson, Program Manager New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Ariella Rosenberg, Senior Policy Advisor on Sustainability New York City Office of Sustainability and Long-Term Planning
Jen Becker, Assistant Vice President, Clean Energy and Sustainability New York City Economic Development Corporation
Guy Sliker, Senior Engineer New York Power Authority
Lee Smith, Managing Director National Photovoltaic Construction Partnership
3 Acknowledgments The City University of New York would also like to recognize the following individuals who contributed to the successful completion of this study:
Bob Allgor, Long Island Power Authority, Howard Apsan, City University of New York, Jim Bing, New Energy Options, David Buckner, Solar Energy Systems, John Byrne, Cen