Solar One just completed the first installment of Going Solar in NYC, a short video series that provides New York property owners with practical information regarding solar investment in the Five Borough area.

In this episode David Buckner, President of Brooklyn-based Solar Energy Systems, one of the city’s largest and longest running installation firms, provides an overview of the requirements, processes and costs that are typical of solar investments for commercial properties.

On July 10-12, 2009, Citysol, a celebration of urban sustainability and creativity in a mini music and arts festival, returns to Solar One. And what a time we shall have!

At Citysol 2009, acts will perform under a solar tent by Eco-Pioneer, who will also be providing site design with solar tents, a tiki lounge and bar and bike area. Installation art and exhibits will be created in a Habitat for Artists, a temporary, recycled-and-recyclable shed as art studio where Habitat creator Simon Draper (and other artists of his choosing) will create pieces to display during the festival. The Habitats are personal/public spaces that can make art more approachable and at the same time encourage more community awareness of and involvement in the creative process. Watching old artworks and other discarded scraps transformed into a free space for ideas to manifest in a city where space is so controlled is exactly the kind of experience Citysol seeks to offer its audience.

FRIDAY JULY 10 at 6 PM: Citysol Party for a Solar-Powered NY
6:30 PM— “Mr. Lower East Side” Moonshine Shorey- Beautiful human being and spoken word god brings his band Jen & the Moon to the party.
7:00 PM — The Alien Comic- Legendary downtown one-man recycling circus.
8:00 PM — DJs from Home Base Collective- Dance dance dance.
PLUS Solar Racecar Design Competition. Join the I Heart PV campaign and get a drink on us!

SATURDAY JULY 11 at 12 PM: Live Music Day Co-Curated by Digiwaxx
12:45 PM — Lower East Side alterna-duo Schwervon!
1:45 PM — Electronica dreamscapers Love Like Deloreans
2:45 PM — Hip-hop/soul artiste Outasight
3:45 PM — Repeat offender/harmonium virtuoso Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers
4:45 PM — Brooklyn punk brothers So So Glos
5:15 PM — The Fabulous Ihsan
5:30PM— Turntable prodigy DJ Spinna
6:00PM— Hip-hop activists Dead Prez
6:30 PM— Underground hero Saigon
6:45PM— Fashion, dance and rap triple threat O’Neal McKnight
7:15 PM — Experimental sextet Hi Red Center
8:15 PM — Teen instrumental sensation Fiasco

SUNDAY JULY 12 at 11AM : Kids of All Ages Day
11:30 PM — Rachel Trachtenburg’s Homemade World with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
12:30 PM — Just Food- Learn the ancient art of fruit canning!
1:30 PM — Solar One- Check out the Solar One bike blender project, buy a bike-blended smoothie and learn about bike mechanics!
2:30 PM — The Madagascar Institute- Make your own generator; you have the power!
3:30 PM — Band of Bicycles- Bicycle-powered spin art for kids of all ages.

4:30 PM — Wide Open Eco-Pet Fashion Show- Dress up your pet in an eco-extravagant costume to die for! Use found, reclaimed, reused and recycled materials to show off your creativity and your pet’s fabulousness! Win a Big Blue Ribbon! Hosted by performance elf Reverend Jen!

For more information/links to participant’s sites, visit www.citysol.org/2009/index.html.

Visit our sponsors and partners: Brooklyn Brewery, Rabbit Mafia, Digiwaxx, EcoArtspace

Last but not least:
Bring your own cup and get a discount on beer.
Reuse the cup we give you and get a (smaller) discount on beer.
Because sustainable should never mean thirsty.

SUNDAY JULY 12 at 11AM : Kids of All Ages Day
11:30 PM — Rachel Trachtenburg’s Homemade World with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players
12:30 PM — Just Food- Learn the ancient art of fruit canning!
1:30 PM — Solar One- Check out the Solar One bike blender project, buy a bike-blended smoothie and learn about bike mechanics!
2:30 PM — The Madagascar Institute- Make your own generator; you have the power!
3:30 PM — Band of Bicycles- Bicycle-powered spin art for kids of all ages.

4:30 PM — Wide Open Eco-Pet Fashion Show- Dress up your pet in an eco-extravagant costume to die for! Use found, reclaimed, reused and recycled materials to show off your creativity and your pet’s fabulousness! Win a Big Blue Ribbon! Hosted by performance elf Reverend Jen!

Lots of stuff for kids to do, plus workshops and panel discussions for the grownups. Make crafts, check out the BioBus, a solar-and-wind powered laboratory on wheels, build a hand-crank alternator and learn about how electricity works, and many more! Plus hang out under Eco-Pioneers Solar Tent and chill at the Tiki Bar!

Bring your own cup and get beers for $2 off the regular price! Reuse the cup we give you, and it’s $1 off!

Write a letter for our I Heart PV campaign to increase solar energy generation in New York State and have a beer on us. Check out http://iheartpv.org for more info.

FRIDAY JULY 10 at 6 PM: Citysol Party for a Solar-Powered NY
6:30 PM— “Mr. Lower East Side” Moonshine Shorey- Beautiful human being and spoken word god brings his band Jen & the Moon to the party.
7:00 PM — The Alien Comic- Legendary downtown one-man recycling circus.
8:00 PM — DJs from Home Base Collective- Dance dance dance.
PLUS Solar Racecar Design Competition. Join the I Heart PV campaign and get a drink on us!

This evening of performance art, spoken word and dancing will culminate in the I Heart PV campaign’s Party for a Solar-Powered NY. Talk to a solar installer, write a letter to your legislator asking for stronger solar energy policy, design, and enter a solar racecar in our design competition and win a Big Blue Ribbon!

Bring your own cup and get beers for $2 off the regular price! Reuse the cup we give you, and it’s $1 off!

Write a letter for our I Heart PV campaign to increase solar energy generation in New York State and have a beer on us. Check out http://iheartpv.org for more info.

GETTING TO Sycamore Flower Shop + Bar.

1118 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn. MAP

TRAIN – Q to Cortelyou. The bar is 4 blocks to the west of the subway station exit, on the same street (Cortelyou)

TAKE A LOOK at a slide show of pictures from last month’s party at Southpaw on Flickr.

CONTACT: Chris Neidl, Neidl@solar1.org, 212 505 6050

SPECIAL LOCATION: The Park Slope Food Coop, 782 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (DIRECTIONS)

Photovoltaic technology (“PV”) converts sunlight into electricity. Believe it or not, the Big Apple is one of the most viable and promising locations for solar power in the entire country. Join I Heart PV campagin advocae and coop member Margo Bettencourt, and campaign coordinator Chris Neidl to hear the arguments in support of this claim and discuss current attempts to establish New York as a leader in solar adoption.

Launched by Solar One in 2008, I Heart PV is a people-powered campaign that mobilizes citizen support for pro-solar policies and educates New Yorkers about the potential and benefits of solar power here in the Five Boroughs.

FREE and OPEN TO NON-MEMBERS.

Check out the video to see Chris (and his five o’clock shadow) talking to an animated news anchor and explaining why New York City is ripe to be the solar capital of the East Coast.  He also talks briefly about the portable solar chargers that he and his students built as part of the I Heart PV program.

There’s lots more coming from Solar One and I Heart PV in coming weeks and months, starting with next week’s Solar Party at Southpaw in Brooklyn.  We hope you can join us!

WHERE: Southpaw, Park Slope, Brooklyn

FREE!

RSVP: GREENRENTER@SOLAR1.ORG

On Monday June 16th, with only a week remaining until the end of the current legislative session, six members of the Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School I Heart PV Street Team met with key leaders in Albany to make the case for solar energy in New York City and State. The group met with distinguished senators from throughout the state, including the Chair of the Senate Energy Committee, George Maziarz, and Senators Joseph Griffo and Michael Nozzolio.

The Albany expedition occurred as a result of Brooklyn Senator Eric Adams’ deep interest and appreciation for the I Heart PV project and the street team’s activities. After seeing the team in action last month at the Grand Army Plaza Green Market in his Brooklyn district, the senator invited them to join him for a fast-paced day of lobbying in Albany. I Heart PV warmly thanks him for his hard work, generosity and responsiveness to the campaign’s goals

The Senator and his wonderful office administrator Mary Harris arranged an amazing experience for the young members of the team that none of them will soon forget. In addition to meeting directly with Senators, during which time they were able to commend the officials for passing expanded net-metering legislation and the New York City Solar Property Tax Abatement as well as inquire about what the state might do next to help advance solar development, the group also appeared before a session of the Senate Minority Conference. After being formerly introduced by Senator Adams the group demonstrated their mobile solar charging unit and answered questions from curious senators, including Suzi Oppenheimer and and NYC’s own Velmanette Montgomery, Ruth Hassell-Thompson, and Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Perhaps the team’s most exciting moment occurred at the end of the day when they met directly with Assembly Member Herman Farrell just one hour before he moved the Solar Property Tax Abatement bill (introduced by the Assembly Member himself) through the Ways and Means Committee, of which he is the chair. Team member Khaddy Ndiaye had the chance to directly relay to the Assembly Member the merits of the policy and why it should be considered a high priority during the last days of the session.

The street team has done an amazing job this spring reaching out to hundreds of New Yorkers, and encouraging voter interest in state solar policies and legislation. Their commitment was crucial to the campaign’s success and Solar One could not be more impressed by their efforts and proud of their accomplishments. Indeed, it would not surprise us in the least if at some point in the future one or more of them were to one day experience lobbying from the other end of the table.

One of the inaugural goals of Solar One’s I Heart PV campaign was successfully met today when the New York State Assembly passed legislation to create a special property tax abatement for new solar system owners in New York City. Bill A11202, introduced by Assembly Member Farrell of Harlem, was identical to legislation in the State Senate (S8145-Padavan) that successfully passed last week.

The abatement will provide a powerful incentive for solar investment, level the comparatively high cost of solar in the five boroughs relative to the neighboring region, and help to permanently drive down the market cost of the technology through market expansion. The policy originated as one of the 127 recommendations in the Mayor’s longterm sustainability blueprint, PlaNYC. To find out more about the policy, click here.

For the past two months, Solar One’s I Heart PV campaign has worked with other advocates to mobilize constituents and help build legislative support for the bill. On behalf of its staff and many partners – including Vote Solar‘s Shaun Chapman, with whom I Heart PV worked closely week in and week out – Solar One thanks all of the voters who made their voices heard and helped make solar more viable in New York City.