No Money No Problems? Financing Cleantech in the Post-ARRA Era
Friday, January 27th, 2012| January 31, 2012 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
Join us Tuesday, January 31, for the first 2012 event in Solar One’s and NYC ACRE’s cleantech discussion series Clean Energy Connections: No Money No Problems? Financing Cleantech in the Post-ARRA Era.
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2011 7:00pm-9:00pm (doors open at 6:30p)
The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC
44 Charlton Street, New York, NY 10014
General Admission: $25, Students: $10
Register for your advanced tickets here
A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
The beginning of 2012 ushers in a new era in renewable energy funding. Section 1603 Treasury Program is dead in the water thanks to a gridlocked Congress, and low tax appetites have hamstrung potential investors. As we move into an uncertain financial landscape, where will today’s renewable energy upstarts find funding for their projects and companies? Will private financing step in to sustain the industry’s momentum? How can the considerable financial power of New York City take a leadership role? Financial experts will examine these issues and offer a realistic assessment of where cleantech is headed now that the federal buck has stopped.
A networking reception will follow the panel discussion and audience Q&A.
Opening Speaker:
- Nathanael Greene, Director of Renewable Energy Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council
Panelists:
- Izzet Bensusan, President and CEO, Karbone
- Ann Davlin, Director of Development, Carbon War Room
- Jason Scott, Partner, EKO Asset Management Partners
Moderator:
- Michael Molnar, Partner, Greentech Capital Advisors
Can’t make it? Greentech Media is the media sponsor for this series and will host a free live web stream of this event at www.greentechmedia.com. Questions for the panelists and comments can be submitted via Twitter@CleanECNYC, #CleanNRGx.
No Money No Problems? is the first event of the second season of the cleantech discussion series Clean Energy Connections. Clean Energy Connections is a program of Solar One and NYC ACRE at NYU-Poly that brings together professionals, policymakers, investors and academia to explore major topics shaping NYC’s blossoming cleantech industry, and provides an expert forum to share best practices and new inspirations.
Posted in Clean Energy Connections Blog, Cleantech, Economy, New York City, Photovoltaics, Solar One Events, Sustainability, Technology | Permalink
NYC Gets SunShot Award to Make It Easier to Install Solar
Thursday, January 19th, 2012The City University of New York (CUNY), on behalf of New York City, won a grant award in mid-December from the Rooftop Solar Challenge, a program of the US Department of Energy (DOE) to support cutting the red tape involved with installing solar. The Rooftop Solar Challenge is part of SunShot, an ambitious initiative of the DOE to make solar cost competitive with other energy technologies without subsidies by the end of the decade. New York City was one of 22 state and municipal recipients of the award. Over the next two years, these 22 teams will implement step-by-step actions to standardize solar permitting processes, update planning and zoning codes, improve standards for connecting solar power to the electric grid, and increase access to financing.
The money awarded by the DOE is for SunShot NY, a two-phase $3.4 million dollar plan that aims to increase the accessibility and affordability of solar for New York City residents by driving down administrative costs.
Posted in Cleantech, Energy, Energy $mart Communities, New York City, Solar Power, Sustainability | Permalink
New York’s Grid is Getting Smarter
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
For many New Yorkers, thoughts about the electricity grid don’t extend much further than their light switches. This may change soon, however, as major upgrades to the grid are planned that will lower electricity bills and improve reliability.
Taken together, these upgraded technologies are known as the smart grid. In August, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), the non-profit organization that manages New York’s electricity grid and administers the state’s wholesale electricity markets, unveiled a $74 million initiative to upgrade New York’s electricity grid with new smart grid technologies.
Backed by more than $37 million from the U.S. Department of Energy, these technologies will improve the efficiency of the state’s bulk transmission system and improve grid operators’ visualization capabilities and situational awareness. NYISO also held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $35.5 million primary power control center in Rensselaer County.
What does it all mean?
New Yorkers will save money. New capacitor banks will reduce electricity costs in New York State approximately $9 million per year by reducing the amount of electricity that is lost when carried over long distances on the bulk transmission system. All told, the upgrades will provide New York with approximately $190 million in annual savings.
Power reliability will improve. New phaser measurement units will improve NYISO’s ability to receive, process and monitor changing conditions, which it does on a moment-to-moment basis, 24 hours per day. Ultimately, NYISO hopes to integrate its smart grid with others across the Northeast and Canada, which could help avoid potential outages, such as the 2003 blackout.
Renewable energy will get a boost. The smart grid upgrades and new power control center will aid the integration of renewable energy supplies, such as solar and wind, into the power supply.
To learn more, visit the NYISO website, read its press release or check out the NYS Smart Grid Consortium overview.
Posted in Cleantech, Energy $mart Communities, Energy Efficiency, Legislation, Sustainability, Technology | Permalink
TONIGHT – Can NYC Have a Wind Industry?
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
Tickets are going fast for tonight’s panel discussion: “Can NYC Have a Wind Industry?” This is the first in the new Clean Energy Connections series created by Solar One and the New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Renewable Economy (NYC ACRE).
April 14, 2011 from 7-9pm
Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, 44 Charlton Street (at Varick Street), New York, NY, 10014.
A networking reception will follow the event.
General admission is $25, and student admission is $10. Advanced registration is required at www.cleanecnyc.org.
Panelists:
- David Bragdon, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability
- KC Sahl, NY Project Director for NRG Bluewater Wind
- Jacob Susman, CEO of OWN Wind Energy
- Russell Tencer, CEO of Wind Products, Inc., a recent graduate of the NYC ACRE incubator
Clean Energy Connections is sponsored by NYSERDA and Con Edison’s Commercial & Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs; Greentech Media is the media sponsor for this series.
Posted in Clean Energy Connections Blog, Cleantech, Economy, Energy, Green Collar Jobs, New York City, Renewables, Solar One | Permalink
Solar One announces a brand new event series: Clean Energy Connections!
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011| April 14, 2011 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
Is NYC on the brink of a cleantech revolution?
We at Solar One think so. New York City, with abundant human, financial, and institutional capital, is well positioned to become a global center in clean technology. However, with all this potential, New York still ranks behind Boston, San Franciso, and Austin as a leader in cleantech. New York has all the right pieces to create a successful industry but there needs to be an underlying network that can connect those pieces, engage the community, and spark a movement that can surpass the current frontrunners. Solar One and the New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Renewable Economy (NYC ACRE) are partnering to create that catalyst with Clean Energy Connections.
Clean Energy Connections is a new year-long discussion series and online platform intended to stimulate dialogue on NYC’s clean energy economy, highlight its innovators and visionaries, and provide a forum for the industry to meet, collaborate and grow. This series will bring together professionals, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs, and students to explore major topics related to cleantech, and debate how New York can play a bigger role.
For our first event, we ask a simple question that could result in many complicated answers: Can NYC Have a Wind Industry? With a 27.8% increase in installed capacity annually for the past five years, wind is fastest growing energy technology in the world (BTM Consult 2010). The United States is only getting 1.3% of its energy from wind power, a measly number compared to the 20% that the US DOE says is possible. With these numbers demonstrating current success and potential for growth, how does the NYC cleantech community capitalize on this opportunity.
To answer these questions, we hear from the experts; industry leaders and innovators who are already making strides in wind, and can give us the best view of where wind power stands, where it is going, and how NYC as a cleantech community can be apart of it.
Our panel consists of:
- David Bragdon, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability
- Jonathan Milley, Vice President, Northeast Region, NRG Energy
- Jacob Susman, CEO of OWN Wind Energy
- Russell Tencer, CEO of Wind Products, Inc., a recent graduate of the NYC ACRE incubator
The first Clean Energy Connections event, Can NYC Have a Wind Industry? will be held on April 14, 2011 from 7:00-9:00pm at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, 44 Charlton Street (at Varick Street), New York, NY, 10014. Doors open at 6:30pm, and a networking reception will follow the event.
General admission is $25, and student admission is $10. Advanced registration is required at www.cleanecnyc.org.
Posted in Clean Energy Connections Blog, Cleantech, Economy, Education, Energy, Energy $mart Communities, Energy Efficiency, New York City, NYSERDA, Solar One, Solar One Events, Sustainability | Permalink
