Turbines in the East River and garbage dump windmills aren't the only way to bring renewable electricity to New York City. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer continues his early mayoral campaigning today with a proposal [PDF] to cover our city's schools with solar panels.
"Solar energy installations and public schools are a perfect match," Stringer explains. "This is an idea whose time has come—a cost-effective, sensible program that will create jobs, lower energy bills and save tax dollars for decades to come."
Using CUNY's awesome Solar Map tool (which lets you estimate the solar energy potential for any building in the city) Stringer's team estimates that the Department of Education's many buildings could bring in 169.46 megawatts of energy a year—while eliminating 76,696 tons of carbon emissions from the city and bringing thousands of "green collar jobs" here. According to them it would be equivalent of planting 400,000 trees in town.
As for paying for all those panels... Stringer argues the best way to get them up is something called Power Purchase Agreements in which "private vendors use renewable energy credits to install and maintain solar panels in exchange for a portion of future savings." And to prove the point he notes that New Jersey has become the nation's fastest growing market for solar energy with similar schemes. Well then! If the Garden State (and Park Slope trash cans) can do it...
