You can also check out an article in the NY Observer about Solar One, Solar 2 and the Platt sisters HERE. It’s official: Chris Collins is dapper!

New energy efficiency legislation that will drastically impact your building is fast approaching and you don’t want to be caught unprepared.  Join us for an interactive session with leaders in the field of energy efficiency.  Learn how you can take advantage of these required changes, and benefit from cost saving measures.  You will also hear about all of the potential funding and financing opportunities available to help with project costs.

June 17, 2010, 6:00-8:00pm,

followed by networking a reception

Sony Wonder Technology Lab Auditorium

550 Madison Ave (at 56th St.)

PANELISTS

Representative from the City of New York:  NYC Green Building Codes

Kate Grossman, Greenwich Energy Solutions:  Energy Audits and Qualifying Buildings

Brett Greenberg, Bovis Lend Lease:  Implementing Energy Efficiency Measures

David Gibson, Lutron:  Advanced Lighting Technologies

Cliff Schorer, Greenwich Energy Solutions: Financing Options

Diana Pangestu, Solar One:  NYSERDA Incentives and Case Study

Seminar Cost:  $25

To register, click on the following link:

It’s Build it Green’s 5th birthday, and we’re celebrating with a joint fundraiser under the tents! Come and enjoy delicious organic vegetable and lamb bar-b-que, beer, live music with the amazing Amayo’s Fu-Arkestra, the DJ skills of Tony Lowe and entertainment from the always-entertaining BIG!NYC team. Tickets are a wallet-friendly $20 adv/$25 at the door, and all proceeds will be split between Solar One and Build it Green! Show us how much you care about a sustainable NYC, come party at Solar One!

Advance tickets available HERE or at the BIG!NYC warehouse in Astoria.

Under the Solar One Tents Map/Directions

Saturday June 12 from 6pm-10pm

NYU-Poly Panel w Engineer Kareem 4.19.10

Join Solar One, McKissack & McKissack, CRDF, and the New York Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders as we host a discussion on the success and challenges of the U.S. Department of State’s Iraq Engineer Enhancement Program (IEEP) at NYU-Poly. The panel will explore the challenges of rebuilding Iraq’s scientific and technological infrastructure, and the urgency of embracing sustainable technologies.

Date: Monday, April 19, 2010, 6:00-8:00pm

Location: NYU-Poly, 160 Varick St. 19th Floor, New York, NY

Register:  Email Diana Pangestu at diana@solar1.org, or call (212) 785-0734

Listen as an Iraqi executive and engineer charged with reconstruction of Iraq’s damaged infrastructure describes the technical, professional and societal challenges facing Iraq today.

Learn more about “science diplomacy” as embodied in the Iraq Engineer Enhancement Program (IEEP), a U.S State Department program managed by the Civilian Research and Development Foundation that is designed to connect Iraqi engineers and professionals with the knowledge they need to rebuild their country.

Connect with a growing network of friends and supporters.

Panelists:

Engineer Kareem, CRDF Fellow at the Iraq Engineers Enhancement Program

Micah Kotch, Director, NYC ACRE Incubator at NYU-Poly

Lex Heslin, President and CEO, Beautiful Earth Group / renewable energy development

Jonathan McClelland, MJ Beck / financing renewable energy projects

Woody Crouch, PE, AECOM / solar power infrastructure, emerging markets

Andrew McNamara, Vice President of New Construction & Renewables at Bright Power Inc.

Moderated by:

Alaa Majeed, Iraqi-American journalist

Andrew Daquesian, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Chair, Green Design & Construction Committee

The Greener Greater Buildings Plan, New York City’s green building legislation, was passed in December 9, 2009.  Solar One, in partnership with NYSERDA,  the City of New York, the Alliance for Downtown New York,  the New York Academy of Sciences, and the New York Building Congress, bring to you the first of a series of workshops to better explain this legislation to the audience it affects – commercial building owners and managers.  In addition to legislation, we will present an overview of the NYSERDA incentives available to commercial buildings that will help offset the costs for energy efficiency upgrades.

Green Within Reach, hosted by the Alliance for Downtown New York, will take place on April 15 from 8:00-11:00am at The New York Academy of Sciences.  While we expect a large amount of interest, we especially invite those who are decision-makers over commercial buildings in the downtown area to attend.

The New York Academy of Sciences
Seven World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10007

Event will feature presentations by NYSERDA and the City of New York. Opening remarks by Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert M. LiMandri.

Agenda
8:00am Breakfast & Networking
8:30am Welcome & Introductions
9:00am Program Begins
10:30am Q&A

EVENT IS FREE. SPACE IS LIMITED.
RSVP here by April 12.

For more information, contact Elizabeth Hewitt at ehewitt@downtownny.com .

First Annual Green Finance Series

A Constellation of Events Presented by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and ACRE at NYU-Polytechnic

Public and private sources of capital talk about current equity and debt programs to fund businesses and projects in the green space. Find out from government and non-government experts how best to fit their offerings with your business projects and investment needs.

Speakers include:

Diana Pangestu of Solar One (NYSERDA Programs)
Kevin Stone of Kevin Stone International, Inc. (SBA & other loans)
Michelle Bhattacharyya of NYC Business Solutions (NYC, Seedco, community based funding)
Michael Huerta, Bright Path Energy (private equity/Wall St capital markets)
Edward Wu, Senior Partner, Cora Capital Advisors
Sean Patrick Neill, Managing Director, Transcend Equity Development Corp.
William G. Lashbrook, III, Senior VP, PNC Real Estate
Betty McCain, VP, Citibank

Moderated by Ann Kayman, CEO, New York Grant Company

Presented at ConEdison, Con Edison
4 Irving Place, 19th Floor

$15/$25, please click here to register.

You can read the interview here.

From NYSERDA:

The New York State Green Residential Building Program (GRBP) will promote green design and building practices throughout New York State by offering incentives to Owners of newly constructed or substantially renovated green residential buildings of fewer than 12 units. A green residential building is a structure that incorporates design and construction practices that can lower energy costs and production of greenhouse gases, reduce waste and water use, and improve indoor air quality.

Solar One in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education will be touring Green from the Inside Out, a three-part workshop on recycling, energy efficiency, and rooftop possibilities for multifamily buildings, throughout New York City.

These workshops are designed to give building owners, shareholders, and managers the tools, resources, and information they need to green their multifamily building.  Look below for the workshop descriptions, to see the date and location of the next workshop, and to reserve your spot.

If you would like us to bring these workshops to your neighborhood, contact Celia Salgado at celia@solar1.org, or 212-505-6050.

6:30pm: A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.

7:15 pm: Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Find out how to reduce fuel and utility costs while improving resident comfort and building performance. Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will present cost-effective ways for residential building owners and managers to make lighting, appliances, heating and cooling more energy efficient. Learn about the government and utility incentives that are available for your building, as well as the Community Preservation Corporation’s new Neighborhood Energy Loan Program that provides financing for retrofitting multi-family apartment buildings for energy efficiency.

8pm: Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

WHEN:  Monday, January 25th

6:30pm to 8:30pm

WHERE: Sol Goldman YM-YWHA

344 East 14th Street New York, NY

RSVP’s required.  Send email to celia@solar1.org to RSVP

RSVP’d guests can arrive at 6:15 to speak with Vendors about products. Presentations will start at 6:30pm and run until 8:30pm. There will be breaks in between presentations to talk to Vendors.

Free!  Refreshments will be served.  Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.

GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education. This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

For more info on the event, check out http://solar1.org/2009/09/28/habitats-for-artists-and-ecoartspace-at-solar-one/!

On Saturday October 3, 2009,  Solar One and EcoArtspace, one of the country’s foremost art organizations concentrating on ecological/environmental art, are pleased to present a day of workshops, discussions and performances about the artistic process, the environment, public vs. private space, as well as presentations from local artists engaged in environment-focused projects.

For much of this summer, sample “studios” from artist Simon Draper’s Habitats for Artists project have been displayed on the blacktop near the Solar 1 building on the East River south of 23^rd St. Throughout our events season, the sheds have provided a community space for concessions, a bulletin board, a studio for artist Todd Betterley and a conversation piece for the many bicyclists, joggers, fishermen and kids who regularly visit Stuyvesant Cove Park. On October 3 from 10am-12pm, Simon will demonstrate how to build your very own artist habitat and answer questions about the future of the Habitats project.

From 1-4pm, performance artist Chere Krakovsky will bring the personal into the Habitat for Artists shed in her performance “Mothers and Daughters”,  exploring how one generation offers its lessons to the next, both learned and unspoken.

In the first part of the performance Chere will honor her Eastern European grandmother by washing her laundry by hand in the way her grandmother did a century ago and will then hang it out to dry using the area around the habitat as backyard.  Following this she has invited her 86 yr. old mother, Dorothy Krakovsky to join her teaching Chere to sew by hand, which she in turn was taught to do by Chere’s grandmother.

In this piece as in many of Krakovsky’s performance works, the everyday and the creative co-exist.  The Habitat for Artist shed will serve as the home location for the everyday tasks of doing laundry and sewing.  Others are invited to participate in the sewing lesson or share in conversation about what has been offered/handed down to them from their mothers. Chere, her mother and grandmother are three generations of artists. The artwork of mother, daughter and grandmother will fill the interior of the habitat for the duration of the performance. Krakovsky’s own relationship to the domestic has complex. Much of her performance work revolves around her ever-changing notions of home, its location and meaning. Women, domesticity, creativity and everyday tasks converge. She is also helping to raise awareness that before it is too late there is much to be learned from those who have gone before.

Following the performance, environmental artists will display and discuss the projects they are working on, participants TBD.

Events at Solar One will be followed by the opening of Down To Earth at the EcoArtpace NYC gallery at 53 Mercer st, 3rd Floor. Artists include: Joan Bankemper, Knox Cummin, Stacy Levy, Ann Rosenthal/Steffi Domike, Susan Leibovitz Steinman, Simon Draper and the Habitat for Artists Collective, including Todd Sargood, Cathy Lebowitz, E Odin Cathcart and Jeff Bailey, plus additional Contributing Artists:
Jacinto Astiazarán and Fritz Haeg, Lenore Malen & The New Society for Universal Harmony, Eve Mosher, Andrea Polli and Chuck Varga, Andrea Reynosa/Kevin Vertrees-SkyDog Projects and Christy Rupp

Join the SIEDC and Solar1 on this fun filled day and learn how to live a happier, healthier and greener life in New York City!

The Staten Island Health and Environmental Conference 2009 will present the latest information on healthcare and environmental issues by industry experts and professionals, and is the first of its kind on Staten Island. The day long forum will consist of vending, seminars, panel discussions and keynote addresses. Free on-site medical screenings will also be provided! In addition, The Health and Environment Conference will demonstrate why a clean environment is important to a healthy lifestyle. Participants will also learn the latest ways to incorporate green practices into their businesses, homes and lifestyles and about the environmental impact of current practices.

WHEN: Thursday September 24th, 2009, 8:00am-8:00pm

WHERE: Hilton Garden Inn- Staten Island

For more information contact:  SIEDC at 718-477-1400, or visit SIEDC.org

Tonight’s Event is full. Space is still available for the 1/25 Green From the Inside Out.

Solar One in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education will be touring Green from the Inside Out, a three-part workshop on recycling, energy efficiency, and rooftop possibilities for multifamily buildings, throughout New York City.

These workshops are designed to give building owners, shareholders, and managers the tools, resources, and information they need to green their multifamily building.  Look below for the workshop descriptions, to see the date and location of the next workshop, and to reserve your spot.

If you would like us to bring these workshops to your neighborhood, contact Celia Salgado at celia@solar1.org, or 212-505-6050.

A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.

Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Find out how to reduce fuel and utility costs while improving resident comfort and building performance. Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will present cost-effective ways for residential building owners and managers to make lighting, appliances, heating and cooling more energy efficient. Learn about the government and utility incentives that are available for your building, as well as the Community Preservation Corporation’s new Neighborhood Energy Loan Program that provides financing for retrofitting multi-family apartment buildings for energy efficiency.

WHEN:  Wednesday, January 20

6:00pm to 8:30pm, plus post-event mixer!

WHERE: Central Park Arsenal

830 5th Avenue, Suite 318, NY

RSVP’s required.  Send email to celia@solar1.org to RSVP.

And from 8:30-10:00pm we are hosting a special event! Only on this special evening we will be hosting a Winter Networking Mixer overlooking Central Park! Invite your clients and business partners to partake in this unique networking evening. Find out what’s going green, and who’s going green in the Upper East Side! Entrance is free and drinks can be purchased.

RSVP’d guests can arrive at 6:00 to speak with Vendors about products. Presentations will start at 6:30pm and run until 8:30pm. There will be breaks in between presentations to talk to Vendors.

Free!  Refreshments will be served.  Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions about energy audits, different roof applications, and recycling.

GREEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT is a product of Solar One, in partnership with the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education. This series was made possible by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.

I figured we could get something going within a year. Boy, were we wrong. As we grappled with what was actually involved in making our dreams real, we spent two years climbing the solar power learning curve, and it was steep….

Amidst this welter of conflicting forces, our beautiful but innocent idea of neighborhood solar power was not enough. We needed expertise to give our project credibility with decision makers who could deliver real financial benefits for our members. So we scaled back our ambitions and started with smaller steps. We touted basic energy-efficiency measures to our members as the prerequisite for going solar. (Drafty windows and outdated appliances waste solar energy just as fast as they waste carbon energy!)….

From our experience, a solar cooperative has to educate and empower its members about the challenges of going solar, including:

• The costs and savings of a standard solar installation that will suit the needs of most members
• The relevant local regulations and permitting process for solar installations
• The federal tax credit for solar installation, as well as state and local incentives
• How to sell Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)
• How to talk to a solar contractor

It’s an interesting story and a good lesson in how life in the real world can be lot more complex than our idealistic visions.  That’s not to say we should all give up our dreams of a solar-powered future, but it’s going to take equal measures of persistence and patience to get there.

For more information on going solar in New York, check out our PV resource page, NYSERDA’s Power Naturally website and DSIRE’s list of available incentives for renewable energy and efficiency projects.

In this workshop Solar One will introduce, define and discuss the economic and quality of life implications of three solar rooftop applications that have considerable promise in the five borough area: solar thermal technology, photovoltaics and white roofs.  Note Location:  University Settlement, 273 Bowery (at Houston)

6:00 PM -  Navigating NYC’s Recycling Landscape

Recycling: it’s good for the city, benefits the planet and is required by law, but many find the reality of recycling challenging.  How does your building’s program measure up and how can you improve your recycling performance? 

Residential building managers, superintendents, board members and others will benefit from this presentation from the Office of Recycling Outreach and Education (OROE).  Hear about new recycling laws and old misconceptions. Find out how to avoid fines, improve your recycling program and get your tenants to recycle.  Learn about other ways to reduce waste, recycle more and help make NYC a little greener. OROE is a program of the Council on the Environment of New York City.

7:00 PM – Combating Rising Energy Costs with Energy Efficiency for Multifamily Buildings

Concerned about the increasing costs of energy in your building?  Green from the Ground Up presents a workshop for Energy Efficiency in Buildings that offers tips on reducing your building’s energy use while making an environmental impact.  Learn how to improve your building’s energy efficiency in lighting, appliances, and heating systems, thereby lowering your fuel and utility bills. 

In this workshop, Solar One’s NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities Coordinator will discuss government incentives available for your building such as the Multifamily Performance Program, and weatherization programs.  Vendors will be available to answer any technical questions, and to sign up your building for an energy audit.

8:00PM – A Survey of Solar Energy Roof Applications for NYC: Solar Thermal, Photovoltaics, Green Roofs and White Roofs

Over one million buildings make up New York City’s one of a kind built environment, and the nearly one billion square feet of largely vacant roofscape that mark its vertical border amount to what is perhaps our most underutilized asset.  Our roofs have an enormous potential to accomodate clean solar energy applications and therefore to address a number of our most pressing local energy challenges, including the urban heat island effect, escalating household energy costs, power failure, growing carbon emissions, and poor air quality.

GO GREEN LES Allen Mall 6 Green Celebration
Saturday, April 25th, 2 p.m.
Allen Mall 6 (Enter at Allen and Rivington)

Come celebrate with Time’s Up! and GO GREEN LOWER EAST SIDE as we bring one of the malls on Allen Street to life the Saturday after Earth Day!

The DOT has a bike lane redesign in the works for Allen St and we’re excited by the potential for revitalization on the mall in the middle of Allen St. 

Times Up! will be offering FREE Bike Repair Education, Helmet and Safety Checks, and FREE Seed Planting Workshops

Other activities and events include:
FREE Green Maps for all
FREE Energy Efficiency Assessments & Evaluations
FREE Green Jobs summer training for students
FREE CFL Bulb Giveaway

Also check out the Youth Photo Exhibit and Vision for the Mall and Avenue of the Immigrants Exhibit

Other Group Involved:
Solar One, NYSERDA Energy $mart Communities, Green Maps,  Win Win Campaign, Hester Street Collaborative, Green Market, LES Boys and Girls Club, LES BID, EcoBizNYC, NYRP, AAFE, Manhattan CB3, NYC Parks and Recreation

Also With:
Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, NYS Senator Tom Duane, NYS Senator Daniel Squadron, Councilmember Alan Gerson, Councilmember Rosie Mendez, Asseblymember Brian Kavanagh

Looking to reduce your building’s energy use, and need resources to help?  Join Energy $mart Communities Coordinator, Diana Pangestu, for a seminar on two of NYSERDA’s more popular incentive programs – the Multifamily Performance Program, and Photovoltaics Incentives.  Find out the in’s and outs of each program, how much incentives are available, and how you can start saving money today.  Get energy efficiency tips for your building and find out what government tax credits and incentives you may be eligible for.  For more information, contact diana@solar1.org or 212-785-0734.  Location:  Solar One Building – 2420 FDR Drive, Service Road East.

Solar One is the contract implementer of the NYSERDA Downstate South Energy $mart Communities Program.  For more information on NYSERDA programs, contact your local E$C Cordinator, or visit the websites:  

www.getenergysmart.org      www.nyserda.org     www.powernaturally.org

The urban built environment simultaneously shapes and contributes to many of our most persistent quality of life challenges while also embodying our greatest potential for achieving a sustainable society. In this lecture Jean-Loup Msika, the founder of Sustainable-City-Project, and Dan Heyden AIA LEED AP, will lay out ways in which we can begin to rethink the relationship of the city’s built structures to one another and to the enormous energy resources of the sun with passive solar design at an urban scale.

Defined simply, a green roof is what its name literally suggests it is: a roof that is partially or fully covered with green vegetation. However, the term actually encompasses a variety of different applications which, depending on design and scope, can afford property owners and whole communities a diverse mix of benefits such as increased energy conservation, habitat creation, local water quality improvement, and urban heat island mitigation.

In this discussion, local green roof designer and entrepreneur Marni Horwitz will make the case for green roofs in the New York City context, discuss the physical characteristics that distinguish different applications, provide local examples and review costs and available financial incentives.

Marni Horwitz is the founder of Alive Structures, a Long Island City-based green roof design firm.