Sustainable CUNY
UNLOCKING THE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET

New technology needs a transparent pathway through the regulatory process in order to reach mainstream deployment.
Tria Case, University Director of Sustainability and Energy Conservation
CUNY Kicks Off Work for Indoor Energy Storage
As demand for indoor energy storage solutions increases, safe, effective and transparent permitting processes must be defined in order to provide a clear pathway for deploying battery storage. Last Monday, Sustainable CUNY's Smart DG Hub kicked off the Storage Permitting Working Group with stakeholders that include NYSERDA, the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, the NYC Department of Buildings and the Fire Department of New York, with technical assistance from DNV-GL. The group is working to develop recommendations for an 'E nergy Storage System Permitting and Interconnection Process Guide For New York City Lithium-Ion Indoor Systems ' , following the publication of the Outdoor Guide this past Spring. The Indoor Guide will be designed to provide building owners and project developers with an understanding of the permitting and interconnection requirements and approval processes for indoor Lithium-Ion based energy storage systems (ESS) in New York City and to streamline the interconnection process. The Working Group will meet regularly through April 2019 and bring together subject matter experts as needed to develop recommendations and the guide. In parallel, the Smart DG Hub is continuing its work on permitting for outdoor Lithium-Ion systems. Reducing Storage Soft Costs

For permitting assistance contact an ombudsman at dghub@cuny.edu
New York Gets an A- in New IREC Shared Renewables Scorecard
New York and Minnesota lead all other states in the strength of their shared renewables program, according to a newly-released scorecard from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). The NYC Solar Partnership (Sustainable CUNY, the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and the NYC Economic Development Corporation) supports community shared solar in the city through its Shared Solar Gateway .
Shared Solar Gateway
Shared Solar Gateway
The Shared Solar NYC Gateway solves the challenge of connecting interested customers with viable host sites built by trusted developers. Each group has their own entry icon to learning and participating in Shared Solar in NYC and includes ACCESSolar, New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) community shared solar program on public housing, the largest of its kind in the country.

IREC's scorecard grades statewide shared renewable energy programs which enable multiple customers to share the economic benefits of one renewable energy system via their individual utility bills (typically through bill credits). Scoring criteria include participation by low-and-moderate income customers, third party ownership of systems and customer eligibility within a utility’s service area .
Contact an Ombudsman about Shared Solar NYC Opportunities .
Tria Case and Three Others Receive 2018 Energy Awards
The New York Energy Consumers Council, the state’s largest energy consumer advocacy organization, awarded its 2018 Energy in New York Awards (ENYAs) to four individuals for “demonstrating exceptional leadership and innovation in smart energy use and conservation”. The recipients are: 
 
Alicia Barton , President and CEO of NYSERDA
Tria Case, Esq ., CUNY’s Director of Sustainability and Energy Conservation 
Charles Copeland , President and CEO of Goldman Copeland
Dan Levin , Executive VP of the NYECC and VP at Energy Markets at Bright Power

Tria Case was recognized for her creation of the Smart Distributed Generation Hub (Smart DG Hub). The Hub works to develop a strategic pathway to a resilient distributed energy system that integrates storage into resiliency planning, and provides support to the grid on peak power days. The Smart DG Hub is supported by the U.S. DOE, NYSERDA, NYPA, and NYC. The Hub, working in collaboration with AHJ’s and other stakeholders, has developed a portfolio of resources for storage, Storage Resources As a direct result of the Hub’s work, Mayor de Blasio set NYC's first energy storage target of 100 MWh by 2020.
Final
NYSERDA Report Predicts 6.3% Clean Power Job Growth in 2018
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) predicts that the state’s renewable power generation sector will add 1,360 jobs in 2018 -- a growth rate of 6.3%. The forecast is contained in a report issued earlier this month showing that New York State added more than 5,600 clean energy jobs in 2017 -- bringing total employment in that industry to more than 151,000 -- and is poised to tack on another 7,200+ jobs this year. Although there was a slight year-over-year decline in solar employment in 2017 -- matching a nationwide trend -- there was still a net employment gain of 4.4% compared to 2015 in the renewable power sector, which also includes wind, hydro and biopower and geothermal. There were nearly 12,000 people working in New York State’s solar industry as of 2017 , accounting for 54% of all renewable power jobs. The release of the report coincided with an announcement by Governor Cuomo that $27.5 million in new funding would be made available for workforce development and training initiatives for clean energy jobs.
NYS Interconnection Policy Working Group
The Interconnection Policy Working Group (IPWG) held a meeting in Albany on October 23 with speakers from DPS, NYSERDA, Con Edison, and NYSEIA. Highlights included Con Edison’s presentation on the NY SIR Preliminary Screening Analysis for applications from 50kW to 5MW, and their proposed “Technical Screen A1”. Con Edison is proposing an additional review for applications that fail Screen A in an effort to avoid unnecessary CESIR’s. NYSEIA suggested SIR updates regarding Material Modifications and Milestone Transparency . Documents and materials presented at the meeting, as well as information on future IPWG meetings, can be found here .