Solar panels on rooftops instead of bars: New York wants to switch to 'clean' energy

"Clean" energy from renewable sources is not an easy task at all. But as a huge metropolis, New York plans to switch to solar energy, reports “Voice of America“. By 2030, New York plans to generate a gigawatt of solar power.

The rooftops of New York offer views of Manhattan, parties are thrown there, tomatoes are grown. They even spend the night on the rooftops in summer, when it is too hot in city apartments. And now the rooftops make the dream of solar energy come true, supplying the city with electricity.

«New York It is very densely populated and uses a lot of energy, ”said Ron Reisman, spokesman for the group that partnerships between the City of New York and the University of the City of New York, NYC Solar Partnership. - There is a need to clean it. The city has set very ambitious goals for itself to reduce its emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere and increase the use of solar energy. The University of the City of New York helps the city in this ”.

The university consists of 25 campuses located in different parts of the city. It is the largest urban university in the United States.

On the roof of one of the Tribeca campuses, there are 947 solar panels, horizontal and vertical. They produce a thousand kilowatts a day. The university and the city government have pooled scientific and financial resources. For fifteen years together create renewable energy sources.

The city has set itself the goal of producing one gigawatt of solar power by 2023, Reisman said. This volume will provide energy to 250 thousand families a year. Roisman agrees that the task seems overwhelming, but the growth of the industry in the city is very strong. Over the past fifteen years, the growth has been seven thousand percent.

Residents of private houses receive a discount

Solar panels are installed on 30 rooftops and generate only 000% of the total energy. On a metropolitan scale, it is a drop in the ocean. But the situation is changing - especially for owners of small private houses. It costs about thirty thousand dollars to install a solar panel system on your roof. Home owners receive significant tax credits.

Brooklyn resident Ross Milton said that when installing solar panels he received a 60% discount.

“And for the last six years I have not paid anything for electricity, my bill is zero. The only bill I pay is from ConEdison for the meter, ”says Ross.

Installation of solar panels will take no more than two days. The procedure for obtaining permission for them is more complicated.

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In New York City, the use of roofs is closely monitored by city officials - no matter what happens. Permits are required from the City Buildings Authority, the Fire Department, the Treasury Department, the Monument Protection Authority ... This is usually done by the company that installs the batteries.

“We install one or two solar cell systems a day, mostly in Brooklyn,” T.R. Ludwig, owner of one such company, Brooklyn Solar Works, told Voice of America. - And that's great. We believe we are part of an important process. "

The US Department of Energy says solar energy will account for 45% of total renewable energy.

New York is one of the world's megacities where life is dear... Of course, not every inhabitant has a house with a large roof, where they can install batteries, but everyone can use solar energy in a different way.

Solar cooperative and jobs

For example, one of the rooftops of a subsidized house owned by the City Housing Authority. It has solar panels. The management itself does not pay for them - the management rents the roof to private companies and makes a profit from it. Residents of other homes and neighborhoods in New York that do not have batteries can join this solar cooperative. By taking advantage of solar power from this roof, they will reduce their utility bills.

According to Christopher White, a spokesman for the city's Housing Authority, they call it "public solar power."

Christopher said that the management does not pay for it, but private companies pay. They also stipulated that the companies installing the batteries must employ residents of subsidized homes.

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Life in subsidized homes is poor and often unsafe - drugs, violence, lack of prospects. Therefore, for local residents, learning how to install solar panels on the roofs of houses - and then also getting a well-paid job in this area - is like opening the door to a new, bright future.

“The batteries must be three meters from the roof exit to maintain fire safety,” says Wayne Smith, a resident of the house. “And there must be a distance between them. We learned a lot of rules here. "

“I know more about electricity now than I used to. I'm still afraid of him, but now I understand him better, ”laughs his neighbor, a resident of the same house, Frankie Duff.