Sustainable CUNY Special Edition
 The Increasing Role of Solar + Storage

"Preparing for climate resilience is the pressing need that is now at the forefront of challenges in our City. The City University of New York (CUNY) has a distinguished history of responding to the diverse needs of the urban neighborhoods where we live and learn, including providing emergency shelters. The growth of solar in NYC has been exponential and storage - with its ability to provide resiliency - is expected to follow the same trajectory. CUNY is proud to be working with City leaders through the NYC Solar Partnership  programs as well as the Smart DG Hub to create the pathway to these clean and resilient energy solutions that can help power our City and protect our environment."
Tria Case, University Director of Sustainability and Energy Conservation
CUNY Eases Entry of Energy Storage in NY
Nationwide, energy storage technology has attracted billions in investment and the efficiency of batteries has improved dramatically, driving costs down. However, this technology needs a transparent pathway through the regulatory process in order to reach mainstream deployment and unlock the associated economic development. Sustainable CUNY's Smart DG Hub , led by Tria Case, is working with the Fire Department of New York and the NYC Department of Buildings to develop permitting requirements for advanced battery installations in New York City and.provide technical assistance on battery storage permitting to developers. The Smart DG Hub's initial work in developing storage resources led to Mayor de Blasio setting NYC's first energy storage target of 100 MWh by 2020 .

For technical assistance contact an ombudsman at dghub@cuny.edu
Queens College Pilots the Many Values of Storage
Sustainable CUNY is working with the Electric Power Research Institute and the New York Power Authority, with support from NYSERDA, to install a solar+storage pilot project on CUNY’s Queens College Campus. A PV system with an Electric Energy Storage System (EES) will be installed on the Summit Dormitory that can supply the immediate power needs of the building. The EES will demonstrate a battery's ability to shave system-wide peak on behalf of a utility, or peak demand for a specific facility, as well as being available to supply emergency power. During Hurricane Sandy Queens College offered shelter and supplies to over 450 men, women and children, including those with special needs, many of whom were from the hard-hit Rockaways area. New York to spur C&I and community solar-plus-storage projects
Map Layer Shows Potential for Solar, Storage on Critical Facilities
Earlier this year Sustainable CUNY's Smart DG Hub built the Critical Facility Solar+ Evaluator : a map layer on the NYSolar Map and Portal that displays critical facilities in NYC where installing resilient PV (solar+storage) would be beneficial. Users can toggle on and off the various layers such as the location of safety, health or food facilities, flood zones or areas that are grid constrained.
Solar on Public Housing: Environmental Justice
Sustainable CUNY Provides Gateway to Shared Solar

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), is the largest public housing authority in America, providing housing to over 400,000 low and moderate income (LMI) New Yorkers. NYCHA recently announced a partnership with five community organization/developer teams who collectively aim to install six megawatts of community shared solar (enough to power 1500 typical NYC households) on 189 rooftops as part of its ACCESSolar program . Community shared solar allows individuals to purchase or subscribe to portions of a large solar array- in this case the developers will make the majority of the subscriptions available to LMI New Yorkers (who then receive a credit on their electric bill). Further, the developers will provide career training and job opportunities for NYCHA residents.The projects won't cost NYCHA or its residents a dime. In fact, the lease revenues NYCHA receives from the ACCESSolar installations will be dedicated to improvements in the buildings that host those systems. Sustainable CUNY helped envision the NYCHA program and provides technical assistance.

Find out about community shared solar opportunities on the Shared Solar

Supporting Solar in Harlem
Solarize Campaign to Generate 415 kw of Solar on Affordable Housing Cooperatives

Solarize NYC is a core component of New York City’s strategy to expand access to clean, reliable, and affordable solar power for all New Yorkers. And they really do mean all New Yorkers.Through One City: Built to Last, the City of New York funded the NYC Solar Partnership to continue its work to reduce market barriers for solar and increase the city’s installed solar capacity through two programs: Solarize NYC and Shared Solar NYC . One of the first campaigns that Solarize NYC supported was Solar Uptown Now (S.U.N.), that is bringing 415 kW-DC of rooftop solar capacity to 11 Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) affordable housing cooperatives in Harlem and Washington Heights. Media Release The NYC Solar Partnership is led by Sustainable CUNY of the City University of New York, which works collaboratively with the New York City Mayor's Office of Sustainability and the New York City Economic Development Corporation to promote an equitable and self-sustaining solar market.
...And Solar Grows in Brooklyn
The NYC Solar Partnership is supporting multiple campaigns in Brooklyn. The Partnership provides financial support to organize and run a campaign, marketing materials and templates for outreach, connections to partners and technical assistance and volunteer training from CUNYs NYC Solar Ombudsmen. Find existing Solarize NYC c ampaigns.
Ask an Ombudsman how you can bring a Solarize NYC campaign to your community .