Photovoltaics | Solar One

Ascendant Neighborhood Development to Solarize Buildings in East Harlem

by Dinaon 04/17/2018 in Community Solar, Economy, Green Building, Housing, New York City, Photovoltaics, Pollution, Renewables, Solar Power, Sustainability, Technology

Ascendant Neighborhood Development (AND), an affordable housing company working in East and Central Harlem, has been working since 2015 on a plan to renovate and modernize 21 buildings in its portfolio, and Solar One is delighted to have partnered with AND on the solar portion of their strategy.

Our Here Comes Solar Affordable Solar team did the site assessments and provided technical advice to AND about which of their buildings were best suited for solar installations, and did the estimates of how big the systems could be and how much electricity they could generate. As a result, AND will be installing a 197 kW array, which will generate more than 235,000 kWh every year- enough to provide electricity to all the common areas of all 21 Ascendant Heritage buildings.

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Here Comes Community Solar

by Dinaon 03/01/2018 in Community Solar, Economy, Global Warming, Green Building, Green Collar Jobs, Housing, New York City, Photovoltaics, Renewables, Solar Power, Sustainability, Technology

This post was originally published on the Here Comes Solar blog, and was written by Affordable Solar Program Manager Anika Wistar-Jones.

It’s finally here, the dream of solar enthusiasts all over the city: solar for apartments. For years, while single-family homeowners have been installing solar right and left, New Yorkers have clamored for solar that fits the city lifestyle where most people don’t own their apartments, let alone the roof several floors above them. So New York State made it possible to participate in what’s called “Community Shared Solar”, where one large array – in a field or on a warehouse roof – can send solar credits to anyone in the same utility zone. After months of planning and building, for the first time, this is possible in New York City, and you can join now.

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Solar Tariff Blues and Confusion – What It Really Means for American Solar

by Dinaon 01/25/2018 in Community Solar, Economy, New York City, Photovoltaics, Renewables, Solar Power, Technology, Workforce

This article was written by Noah Ginsburg, Director of Solar One’s community solar initiative, Here Comes Solar:

Earlier this week the Trump Administration announced that it was levying a tariff (tax) on all imported solar panels. This tax was supposedly levied to protect American manufacturing jobs, but in reality there are very few USA solar manufacturing jobs to protect. Less than 2% of American solar jobs are in solar panel or cell manufacturing, and the tariff will marginally increase the cost of solar to consumers and therefore slow the growth of more robust sectors of the USA solar industry, which currently employs more than 260,000 Americans.

Those of you reading the headlines may be wondering “How big will the impact be?” or “Will this impact my ability to save money with solar?” Read on for answers to these questions and to learn more about the tariff and what it really means for our domestic solar industry, and for all of us as potential consumers of clean affordable solar energy.

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Teaching Teachers to Teach Climate Science

by Dinaon 01/09/2018 in Community Solar, Education, Green Design Lab, New York City, Photovoltaics, Renewables, S1 in the News, Solar Power, Sustainability, Uncategorized

This letter, by Solar One BFF Joy Garland, appeared in the December 28, 2017 Letters to the Editor in Town & Village newspaper.

Have you ever wondered how schools are preparing our students from kindergarten through high school to understand climate, how it affects us and what we can do about it? One solution that has been suggested is to reach out to the teacher training colleges who prepare the adult students to be teachers before they enter the children’s classrooms. Here in New York City, Teachers College, Columbia University and New York University are both participating with the New York CityDepartment Of Education (DOE) Office of Sustainability, to increase environmental and sustainability education for teachers and students. There is also an initiative from NYC DOE to strengthen the sustainability coordinator position in each public school.

We were delighted that State Senator Brian Kavanaugh was able to speak at the recent meeting of the Environmental Education Advisory Council (EEAC) dealing with the aforementioned issues. The senator spoke about initiatives on the environment that he sponsored when he served in the State Assembly before he won a spot in the State Senate recently. He also offered suggestions for helping to improve environmental and sustainability education in the schools.

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Here Comes Solar Gets Some Love from BRIC TV

by Dinaon 05/15/2017 in Community Solar, Economy, Global Warming, Green Building, New York City, Photovoltaics, Renewables, S1 in the News, Solar Power, Sustainability, Technology

If you’ve been curious about Solar One’s Here Comes Solar program, thanks to the awesome folks at BRIC TV, you can learn all about it in this informative video. Professional futurist Garry Golden will show you his own rooftop solar array in South Park Slope, Brooklyn, and Here Comes Solar program director Noah Ginsburg explains how the program works and its goal to help solarize Brooklyn…and beyond.

Solar Power Is for Everyone

by Dinaon 12/15/2016 in Community Solar, Energy Efficiency, Green Collar Jobs, Housing, New York City, Photovoltaics, Renewables, S1 in the News, Superstorm Sandy, Sustainability, Technology, Workforce

affordable-solar-new-york_i Solar One, GRID Alternatives Tri-State and Co-op Power today announced the launch of Affordable Solar New York. The nonprofit initiative will bring low-cost solar power to affordable housing providers in New York, which provide critical housing and services to low-income residents. Solar can significantly reduce energy costs for both operators and tenants, yet up-front costs, credit scores and complex financing remain significant barriers for this sector to access the technology.

Affordable Solar New York will address these barriers by providing no-cost technical assistance, reduced-cost installation and zero-down financing options to Housing Development Fund Corporation cooperatives and other affordable housing providers in New York City. Projects will include both job training and energy efficiency education opportunities for residents.

“To reach Mayor de Blasio’s landmark OneNYC vision for a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient New York City, all New Yorkers will need the ability to tap into the cost and energy saving benefits that solar energy can provide,” said Mark Chambers, Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “I applaud Solar One, GRID Alternatives, and Co-op Power on the launch of Affordable Solar New York, an important step toward a more inclusive energy landscape in New York City.”

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