Sustainable CUNY
CUNY DG Market Impact: Year in Review
In 2018, interest in solar and storage continued to soar in New York. However, the market did blink as policy makers worked to fine-tune this rapidly growing energy and job sector. NYC is the largest marketplace in the country, and like most urban areas, has unique challenges for deploying solar and storage and is least likely to have utility scale solar. The City has taken the lead on making solar accessible to all through the Solarize NYC and Shared Solar NYC programs, opening the gateway to an even greater demand for distributed generation that can help smooth market fluctuations. It is also important that we continue to work towards policies that support solar deployment of all sizes and configurations to ensure a diverse, equitable and resilient energy system.
Tria Case, University Director of Sustainability and Energy Conservation
STORAGE
The Smart Distributed Generation (DG) Hub was formed by Sustainable CUNY in 2013 to develop a strategic pathway to the market for DG technologies in New York. The initial focus has been on energy storage systems (ESS). One of the best ways to increase demand for any product or service is to reduce its costs. Although hardware prices are dependent on larger market forces, targeted efforts through the Smart DG Hub work to help bring down the “soft costs” of energy storage. Soft costs include all the non-hardware expenses (sometimes called balance of system costs) associated with an ESS project, such as customer acquisition, permitting, interconnection and financing costs. By bringing together utilities, local government, state agencies, developers, and other stakeholders, the Smart DG Hub is actively working to reduce these costs, leading to greater ESS adoption. Current Sustainable CUNY Smart DG Hub focus areas include:
For permitting assistance contact an Ombudsman at dghub@cuny.edu
Smart DG Hub 2018 Impact
2018 marks the conclusion of a three year DG Hub effort, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy to develop tools, a solar+storage roadmap and educational resources for ESS integration into New York City (NYC), and leverage the results to New York State (NYS). The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has also provided continuing support since the inception of the DG Hub, and their support continues. Key resources developed as part of this effort include:
In April of 2018 Sustainable CUNY’s Smart DG Hub published the Energy Storage Permitting and Interconnection Process Guide for New York City: Lithium-Ion Outdoor Systems. Collaboratively developed with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), Con Edison and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the guide is designed to provide building owners and project developers with an understanding of the permitting, interconnection and approval processes for outdoor Lithium-Ion (Li-ion) Energy Storage Systems (ESS) in New York City. The Hub is currently focused on working with fire protection and system safety advisor Underwriters Laboratories (UL), independent Fire & Explosion Consultants, technical advisor DNV-GL and other stakeholders to integrate large-scale testing data into battery permitting standards for ESS in New York City. NYC has a 100 MWh goal of installed ESS by 2020, see all the DG Hub Storage Resources .
C reating a transparent process for installing Li-ion ESS that would be acceptable to jurisdictions across New York is seen as the key to unlocking the lucrative storage market in the Empire State. As the demand for ESS continues to increase across the state, the Smart DG Hub is working with NYSERDA to create Li-ion permitting tools for New York State.
For permitting assistance contact an Ombudsman at dghub@cuny.edu
IN THE CITY
Sustainable CUNY initially formed the NYC Solar Partnership in 2006, working collaboratively with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to develop and implement comprehensive plans for large-scale solar integration and the associated economic development in New York City. In 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio committed to expanding the Partnership and established a comprehensive initiative under One City: Built to Last that includes two new programs: Solarize NYC and Shared Solar NYC . In addition to leading those programs, Sustainable CUNY continues to provide technical assistance to installers and developers helping to grow the NYC market from less than one megawatt in 2006 to over 144 megawatts installed by the end of November 2018.
Solarize NYC in 2018
Solarize programs have taken hold across the country, but making these community-led solar discount initiatives work in New York City can be challenging. The city’s dense population, socio-economic disparities and wide variety of housing stock present a unique set of considerations. In 2018, the NYC Solar Partnership focused on Solarize campaigns that had strong ties to their communities and were supported by Sustainable CUNY ombudsmen, who spent significant time providing education in the field and technical assistance. The results are a blueprint for successful solarize campaigns in urban areas. 

Solar Uptown Now , led by WE ACT for Environmental Justice in Northern Manhattan, just wrapped up its campaign with contracts for 11 solar installations, including nine on Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) cooperatives that will benefit 900 residents. These affordable co-ops are the first of their kind in the country to go solar, and will provide a template that can be followed by HDFC co-op boards in NYC. WE ACT prioritized local hiring as part of their installer selection RFP, resulting in six solar workforce trainees being hired thus far by local installers. Solarize Nehemiah ’s campaigns, led by Nehemiah Economic Development, Inc., include a completed campaign that resulted in contracts for installation of 32 kW of solar in Brownsville, an area with a median household income of $27,000 and where 36% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The Solarize Nehemiah campaigns also focused on creating future job opportunities for the youth (16-21 year olds) in their communities through their Solar Pioneers program. This program trained 50 residents on the solarize campaign, many who then conducted campaign outreach in their neighborhood. The Solarize Nehemiah: East New York campaign is ongoing.
Apply to Solarize NYC to bring a solar campaign to your community
A Gateway to Shared Solar in 2018
Shared Solar NYC is a community shared solar (CSS) program, also sometimes referred to as Solar Gardens , Shared Renewables or Community Distributed Generation (CDG). These programs allow individuals and businesses to purchase or subscribe to portions of a large solar array based off-site and managed by a third-party. CSS has become enormously popular across the country, especially for renters and those with non-viable rooftops. NYC has the highest percentage of renters in the country - more than 50% - so the potential for CSS developers is tremendous. The 2018 focus for Sustainable CUNY in this sector was enhancing the Shared Solar Gateway , a one-stop platform that could aggregate projects, hosts, and subscribers, including for the new NYCHA ACCESSolar program (see article below). CSS projects throughout NYC that are looking for subscribers are now displayed on an interactive map. So far, more than 100 New Yorkers have registered to receive notifications when CSS sites are available for subscribers. As the demand for sites increases, Sustainable CUNY is utilizing its NY Solar Map and working with the NYC Solar Partnership to conduct outreach to owners of optimum sites for potential CSS projects. Shared Solar 2.0, when launched December 13th, will further advance the functionality of the Gateway with an enhanced solar industry platform.
NYCHA Strides Toward Its Solar Goal in 2018
After several years of planning and preparation with the support of Sustainable CUNY, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is wrapping up 2018 with significant progress toward its commitment to install 25 MW of solar capacity on the city’s public housing developments by 2025. As the year draws to a close, NYCHA is finalizing lease agreements with two teams of solar developers -- Bright Power/SolPurpose and Tangent/AltPower -- for the installation of up to 6 MW on more than 100 rooftops and parking lots under its Commercial Solar Program for large rooftops. In parallel, five teams of community organizations and solar developers selected to partner with NYCHA on its ACCESSolar (ACelerating Community Empowered Shared Solar) Program will begin working on proposals to install an additional 6 MW on nearly 200 smaller rooftops. All of the installations will be community shared solar projects aimed at low-to-moderate income households. Additionally, all of the teams have agreed to provide job training and employment opportunities for NYCHA residents.
Removing Barriers: TA Support in the City in 2018
For nearly a decade, CUNY’s Solar Ombudsmen have provided technical support to both installers and agencies, including a weekly presence at the NYC Department of Buildings. With a foot on each side of the permitting process, Ombudsmen have been able to identify challenges -- from small bumps in the road to flat-out barriers -- and then worked with the Sustainable CUNY team to suggest and implement solutions. Highlights for 2018 range from supporting the NYC Solar Property Tax Abatement extension (see below) to providing subject matter expertise for Zone Green 2.0. Other highlights include providing input and clarification on:
  • Electrical inspections for current solar technology
  • National Electrical Code requirements
  • Flat roofs and solar canopy zoning
  • (Large) ground mount solar carport requirements
  • Solar + Storage support
Sustainable CUNY convenes the NYC and NYS Installer Roundtables, forums for exchanging information, workshop opportunities, RFP and RFI notices, and industry updates. If you would like to join the NYC and/or NYS Installer Roundtable, please send a request with your solar company email to nysolar@cuny.edu
NYC Solar Property Tax Abatement (PTA) Extended
Sustainable CUNY proposed the initial PTA in 2009 as part of it's NYC Solar Energy Future, an early roadmap, and provided the supporting analysis, as well as the data that supported its subsequent extensions. Governor Andrew Cuomo has now signed legislation ( A10150 ) that extends New York City’s PTA for solar PV systems until January 1, 2021. The current law was set to expire at the end of this year. The PTA extension allows the owners of sites hosting solar installations to deduct 20% of the system’s cost (less NY-Sun incentives) from their city property tax bill over a four-year period. Abatements are capped at $62,500 per year, or $250,000 over four years. Solar systems that begin operation by January 1, 2021 will now be eligible for the PTA. A companion bill that extends the PTA to energy storage systems placed into operation by January 1, 2012 ( A10410 ) is still awaiting the Governor’s signature.
CUNY TO SPEAK AT SOLAR POWER NY
Tria Case will be speaking at the Solar Power NY conference on Thursday, December 13th in a morning session on New York City’s Municipal Solar Strategy: Getting to 100 MW and Beyond. Tria is the lead for the NYC Solar Partnership and University Director of Sustainability and Energy Conservation for the City University of New York, and will be joined by Steve Caputo, Assistant Commissioner of Operations, Department of Citywide Administrative Services. This session will highlight the city's strategy for expanding solar across public facilities and provide insights into the city's current building stock. The speakers will demonstrate the need to look to innovative installation solutions across a variety of city assets to achieve the 100 MW goal by 2025.