Largest Solar Installation In New York City Completed In Staten Island
Published on July 20, 2018 by Dave Kovaleski
The largest solar energy system in New York City was installed this week in Staten Island, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority announced.
The 3.1-megawatt solar array will provide energy for Fordham University and Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx.
This solar installation project on Staten Island, the largest in New York City, will provide clean energy and help protect the environment, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said. The system further supports the states aggressive goal of 50 percent of electricity coming from renewable energy sources by 2030. While the federal government turns its back on protecting the environment, were continuing to work to combat climate change in New York.
The project is made up of more than 9,000 solar panels and will generate nearly four million kilowatt hours of clean solar energy each year. This will offset 20 percent of Fordham Universitys electricity use and 37 percent of Fordham Preparatory Schools use. The panels were installed on approximately 10 acres of industrial property in Staten Island.
Gov. Andrew Cuomos has mandated that 50 percent of electricity in the state must come from renewable energy sources by 2030.
The solar project uses remote net metering, which means that solar that is installed at one site can offset electric bills for customers at different locations.
The system was designed and installed by New York City-based EnterSolar.
How Do Solar Panels Work
Do solar panels require regular maintenance?
No, but cleaning them can improve power generation if they are dirty.
Will residential solar power system cost fall in New York in 2021?
Given this environment, and the effect of import tariffs placed on solar panels by the Trump administration during 2018, it is hard to see that solar power system prices in New York will fall during 2021.
How Many Solar Panels Are Required On Residences In California
Solar panel systems are meant to be installed at a large enough capacity inorder to cover a buildings approximate annual electricity consumption. Naturally, this is challenging to calculate exactly when you are building a brand new property, which no one has ever lived in before. For this reason, most builders estimate a buildings average electricity consumption based on the square footage of the floor plan.
As a general rule of thumb, most builders use an estimate of 2 watts of solar power per square feet. This means that for a 2000 square foot residence, 4,000 watts of solar capacity needs to be installed . Of course, there are many more factors to consider when looking at larger residences and multi-family units. The number of bedrooms, tenants, and building shape must all be considered as well.
Ulitmately, the exact number of solar panels is going to be The amount of solar needed is based on an Energy Design Ratio . A homes schematic design can be tested on state-approved software for all new construction.
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Solar Power In New York
Solar power in New York includes the largest solar farm on the east coast, the 37 MW Long Island Solar Farm, as well as the 17 MW enXco Eastern Long Island Solar Project, which consists of seven projects, three at LIRR station carports.
New York City is planning to build a 50 MW solar farm on 250 acres of a closed land fill.
New York has a renewable portfolio standard of 30% from renewable sources by 2015. In 2015 24% was renewable, 6% short of the goal. Wind is the predominant generating technology. In 2018, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority awarded long-term contracts to 22 utility-scale solar farms, totaling a combined capacity of 646 MW.
Solar Splash, a solar powered boat race, was held in Buffalo, New York, in 2002.
Past Solar Requirements For California Buildings
Before AB-178 was sworn in, the state of California had already been making green strides towards a future with solar energy. A few other other major oridiances that have been enforced in the Golden State.
- Since Jan 1st, 2014, all new Californian residneces and commercial buildings have been required to have a solar ready roof.
- Since Jan 1st, 2017, every residence or commercial building below 10 stories in San Francisco has been required to have PV solar panels or solar water heaters.
- Solar zones, most commonly on roofs, must be clearly identified in construction plans. Solar zones are required to take up no less than 15% of the roof area.
Essentially, California is a leading example of how purposeful legislation can lead to rapid renewable energy adoption. With a new generation designing only solar ready roofs, the record-setting mandates in San Francisco and statewide paved the way for AB-178 to be enacted.
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Return On Your New York Solar Energy Investment
Heres where we get to the bottom line. You now know that New York has some of the best incentives for solar installations in the nation. You know you can get a great price on a rooftop solar system. But does that great price translate to savings on your utility bills? The short answer is yes! Check it out.
The estimated savings for the average home in New York with a solar energy system is $19,000 over 20 years,4 which is pretty great when you consider most rooftop solar systems are rated to last 20 years or more. Of course, savings will vary based on the size of your home and how much power you use. Were guessing you already have some ideas of how to use that extra chunk of change. Plus, you cant put a price on knowing your power comes from a clean, renewable source!
How Much Land Is Needed To Power The World’s Major Cities By Solar
As Earth Overshoot day passed by, we continue to battle with the constant reminder that the world’s fossil fuel resources are only becoming more limited – and our global footprint significantly larger. With the need for renewable energy amplifying, RS Components reveal just how little land is needed to power major cities across the world with solar energy with this interactive piece.
The top 5 cities that would need the smallest % of city area taken up by solar panels to power them:
The top 5 cities that would need the largest % of city area taken up by solar panels to power them:
According to the data, Paris is the most power-hungry city. Nearly half of Paris land space needs to be accommodated by solar panels to harness the sheer amount of energy needed to run the city.
The top 5 cities with the smallest areas of solar panels needed to power them:
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Amazing Map: Total Solar Panels To Power The United States
square area = 44 miles per side
This amazing map illustrates the total area of solar panels that would be needed to fulfill the electricity demands of the United States.
Here are the facts that I used, and the caveats to the map illustration
The United States Energy Information Association reveals in their December-2013 Electrical Power Annual report, in Table 8.6.A, that the peak load for all interconnections of electricity during the summer of 2012 was 767,762 Megawatts within the contiguous United States.
It is also reported that total electricity consumption for the United States during 2012 was 3,694,650 million kWh .
| 3,694,650,000,000 |
I chose a 250-watt Sharp ND-250QCS solar panel 65×39 each.
767,762,000,000 watts / 250 watts per panel3,071,048,000 total panels
44 miles per side of square
I chose the location near White Sands Desert in New Mexico because the geographic area there receives an abundant amount of sunshine.
It is very interesting to visualize equivalents, such as the total theoretical area required to supply the total demands of electricity for the United States.
Now the caveats
CAVEATS AND PROBLEMS
The raw materials and manufacturing capability would be enormous to build that many panels.
The infrastructure and additional equipment needed would be tremendous.
Solar panels and inverters are not 100% efficient.
There will be cloudy days.
Less sun during the winter months unless this was built on the equator.
A SOLUTION
Overview Of Solar And Green Roofs
Solar and green roofs help the environment in different ways. Solar roofs convert sunlight into clean, renewable energy. New York stipulates that roof-mounted solar systems must be at least 4 kilowatts in size as part of the citys new mandate, but theres a lot more to it than that.
Green roofs absorb less heat than regular roofs, keeping buildings cooler and limiting energy consumption and costs. They commonly consist of vegetation, a growing medium, water drainage, waterproofing, and a root barrier that protects the buildings roof below it . They also can be spaces for city dwellers to enjoy plantlife in an otherwise urban area.
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Laws Regulations And Incentives Power Solar Energys Growth
Reprinted with permission from New York Law Journal.
Debates about energy typically focus on concerns about global warming from the use of fossil fuels or the safety of nuclear power and fracking. While all this discussion is happening, New York is moving, to a not inconsiderable extent, in a different direction. With state laws, regulations and incentives leading the way, the future of solar power here has never looked brighter. This column discusses some of the more significant steps that the state has been taking recently to promote the use of solar energy.
Solar Energy Today
With improved technology, solar energy today is more than just solar panels on rooftops that convert sunlight directly into electricity for individual homes or small buildings. Now, PV arrays, which sometimes are referred to as solar farms, generate commercial electric power. Solar hot water technology uses a collector, storage tank, piping and valves and pumps to heat water. Passive solar energy heats and lights buildings directly from sunlight, using windows, walls and floors to collect, store and distribute solar heat in cold seasons and using other elements, such as awnings and overhangs, to shade buildings during warm weather.
The Sun Initiative
Tax Incentives
New York State offers several tax incentives to encourage solar energy. Incentives for residential installations include:
Permitting
A number of other state policies promote solar energy and other renewable energy sources.
How Many Wind Turbines Would It Take To Power The Us
Windmills for electric power production, Zaragoza Province, Aragon, Spain
Getty
AnswerMichael Barnard, Chief Strategist, TFIE Strategy Inc., on Quora:
About 1.26 million covering about 0.01% of the land.
So this is a hypothetical scenario. Obviously wind energy wouldnt be the only form of primary energy in the USA. Solar, hydro, geothermal and biofuels will also play roles, with solar being at least equal to wind generation.
But lets make some assumptions.
- We are going to replace all primary energy sources in the USA.
- We are going to do it only with wind energy.
- We arent going to worry about grid balancing, as thats going to be done in reality mostly by all the other forms of generation, continent scale HVDC and a bit of storage. This is a hypothetical situation, remember.
How much primary energy does the USA require, is the first question.
This energy flow chart from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is crucial to understanding this. A lot of people have a very mistaken idea of how much energy we have to replace. They count up all the boxes on the left and come up with a huge number. But the actual number is closer to the small box on the right. The large grey box above that is rejected energy, mostly in the form of waste heat from burning fossil fuels.
Actually useful energy is only 32.7 quads. A quad is to 1.055 × 10^18 joules or 1.055 exajoules. Thats what we have to actually replace, about 35 exajoules.
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Adoption Of Onsite Energy Efficiency Improvements
Whereas PV systems are supposed to be designed to cover 100% of a buildings electricity consumption, the required installation capacity can be lowered by adopting other onsite energy efficiency improvements. Building owners can reduce the size of their PV solar panel arrays by adopting thermal solar power, installing certified appliances, using green building materials or adopting other energy efficiency initiatives.
How Many Wind Turbines Would It Take To Power All Of New York City
Several thousand could hypothetically do the job
According to Paul Sclavounos, professor of mechanical engineering and naval architecture, 4,000 five megawatt turbines could meet New York Citys average annual electric consumption. The citys five boroughs, plus Westchester, consumed around 60 thousand gigawatt-hours of electricity last year, according to ConEdison. Thats 60 billion kilowatt-hours a year.
This might sound like a lot, but it turns out New York City residents are among the greenest Americans, with households averaging 4,200 kilowatt-hours per year typical households in less concentrated cities consume two to three times as much power. Still, even with the efficiencies of urban living, when the power needs associated with sweltering summers combine with the needs of bustling industrial and commercial sectors, New Yorks utilities struggle to satisfy demand.
The tower for each turbine would stretch 90 meters above the surface of the sea, supporting blades reaching 125 meters in diameter. The whole apparatus would rest on special buoys, one kilometer apart, with strong mooring systems to take big waves. Sub-sea cables dug into trenches would channel electricity generated by each turbine to the electric grid onshore.
Posted: March 30, 2010
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Solar Made For Landmarked Homes
Having a landmarked home doesnt mean you cant go solar, but it does mean that your system cant be visible from the street. Brooklyn SolarWorks has honed unique design methods that keep solar out of site and in compliance with city regulations. In fact, nearly half of our clients live in historic districts or in landmarked homes.
Who Finances Mandated Solar Installations In California
Like any other appliance in a residnece, the building owner will be responsible for financing the solar panels. In most cases, the additional cost to install solar panels will be lumped into the monthly mortgage payments.
For residential instances, this adds an average of $40 per month to the mortgage. However, on that same property, the solar panels will save approximately $80 per month on normal electricity expenses. For larger residences and commercial buildings, the average savings increase exponentially as solar panels save building owners from higher-tiered utility billing rates.
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Are Solar Panels Worth It In New York City
We have sat down and chatted with solar panel installation companies to provide you with the best answers to your common questions.
Yes, powering your home with a solar panel system is worth it in New York City. In fact, solar panels have a reasonable return on investment in every state across the country. While its no doubt that certain states and cities get more sun than others, New York gets an average of ### sunny days per year while the US average is 205 sunny days. This is plenty of sun for solar panels to have a great return on investment and a reasonable payback period.
Adding A Solar Battery For Electricity Storage
For those looking to maximize their energy independence, solar batteries can be added to PV systems in order to store excess electricity for later use. In doing so, property owners can use less overall utility power to maximize their savings on electricity bills.
Plus, in areas prone to natural disasters like wildfires, utility power may be cut entirely to prevent damage to the grid and buildings attached to it. With a solar storage battery, a residence or commercial building can operate off-grid, completely independent of utility fed power.
If solar storage is part of a buildings PV system, then the required system size can actually be reduced by 40% or more due to its energy efficiency. This can help property owners cut down on required roof space as well as grid dependency.
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How Many Solar Panels To Power New York City
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You may be entitled to solar panel tax credits if you installed solar panels in your home. Heres what you need to know to claim the tax credit. Sky-high electric bills and a sunny climate combine to make installing solar panels attractive. Trying to convert the suns rays into electricity doesnt m