Saturday, February 25, 2012

Go Big Apple, go! Grab the Solar chance!

A report released this week by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority shows significant potential for solar energy investment in the state over the next decade.
The “Power New York Act of 2011″ analyzed the pros and cons of increasing solar energy in the state.
Various economic and environmental models were constructed and analyzed, leading the organization to report that “fossil fuel consumption could drop by 4 percent and carbon dioxide emission by 3 percent if the state were to increase its solar power to 5,000 megawatts by the year 2025.” At this point in time, only 19 megawatts of solar energy are generated in New York state.

Last but certainly not least given the nation’s hunger for job growth, the report estimated that 3,200 jobs would be created by the solar energy industry if solar demand rises over the next 10 years.
The downside of increased solar activity, critics are quick to point out, is the cost. Ratepayers would see an annual rise from 0.1 percent to 5 percent by 2025, which could equal as much as $9 billion in expense passed on to utility payers in that amount of time.

The assistant director of communications for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Dayle Zatlin, believes that the benefits outweigh the costs given the critical state of New York’s environment and its dependency on foreign oil. She urges the state legislature to invest in more research on the subject.

Tria Case, university director of sustainability for the City University of New York system, agrees: ”The environmental, climate and energy challenges of New York City are staggering, complex and interwoven with the aging infrastructure of America’s largest city. The widespread adoption of renewable energy and efficiency habits can help address these concerns.”
 
find the report here

What do you think? Looking forward to read your comments.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Midtown Manhattan has more energy use than the whole country of Kenya

Whenever the Columbia University is in the news I am thrilled by their latest work. The Solar Map was groundbreaking and helped to raise the awareness of the unused potential of Solar Energy in NY. Their latest work provides an even more stunning insight to New Yorks energy usage.

New York City urban planners now have an important tool to help create energy reduction plans. An interactive map of New York has been developed by the Columbia University Engineering School to show the energy consumption of individual buildings across the five boroughs. Users can select a building on the map, see how much energy it uses, and what it uses the energy for. The data will help planners initiate energy conservation programs and know exactly which buildings and areas to target.

The map really brings to light the massive amounts of energy that New York City consumes. “Midtown Manhattan has more energy use than the whole country of Kenya, and New York state uses more energy than all of sub-Saharan Africa,” head of development Vijay Modi told Metropolis at the Wall Street Journal. “There is just this intense use of energy in cities like New York.”



Read more at Inhabitat


What do you think? Looking forward to read your comments.