200 attend area premiere of Earth Days at Solar One
Friday, August 14th, 2009
Solar One would like to thank all who attended last night’s screening of Earth Days, as well as Rooftop Films, Nevette Previd, Yellow + Blue Wines and Living Librally for helping make the event a success.
The film debuts theatrically today at Quad Cinema in Manhattan.
Photo: Erik Martig
Posted in Art, Film, Global Warming, Politics, Solar One | Permalink
Manhattan Announces Green Jobs For the Ex-Homeless
Monday, April 27th, 2009
This past Friday, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced an innovative plan that will help curb NYC’s greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously providing jobs for those most in need of them. The Go Green! Cooking Oil Recycling Program will employ formerly homeless and incarcerated individuals to pick up used cooking oil from local city restaurants free of charge; the oil will then be sold to companies that conduct biodiesel conversion, cutting down on the use of standard diesel gasoline – among the dirtiest of hydrocarbon-based fuels – in commercial vehicles in and around the city.
The service will be conducted by RWA Resource Recovery, a venture of The Doe Fund and its Ready, Willing and Able Community Improvement Project. To date, RWA Resource Recovery has collected nearly 725,000 gallons of biodiesel since its inception in early 2007, an amount that should increase at a substantial rate under the new agreement; in March alone, RWA added 50 new client businesses around the city. Overall, through this community improvement project, The Doe Fund has aided more than 3,000 formerly destitute New Yorkers in their quest for self-sufficiency. The program will also partner with the Lower East Side Ecology Center, which will conduct education and outreach by training local students to serve as “eco-consultants” to help recruit other businesses into the program.
In addition to this venture, which will expand to neighborhoods in upper Manhattan over the next few weeks, the state will provide further incentives for biodiesel through tax credits for users and producers of the alternative fuel. Given current economic and employment trends, the Go Green! Cooking Oil Recycling Program will provide much-needed hope and opportunities while at the same time making progress towards a cleaner city.
Sources: “Speaker Sheldon Silver and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer Announce Free Cooking Oil Recycling Program for Local Restaurants”, press release – 4/24/09, Manhattan Borough President’s Office official website (www.mbpo.org); RWA Resource Recovery website (www.rwarr.org); The Doe Fund website (www.doe.org); Lower East Side Ecology Center website (www.lesecologycenter.org).
Posted in Biofuel, Green Collar Jobs, New York City, Politics, Recycling, Waste | Permalink
Dutchess County To Get 161 Green Jobs
Friday, April 10th, 2009
The sun may soon bring something new to the Empire State. According to a press release issued Tuesday by Governor David Patterson’s office, New York is about to get its first solar cell factory.
SpectraWatt, a spin-off of Intel Corporation and relative newcomer to the solar scene, will set up shop in Hudson Valley Research Park and expects to be ready for production by early 2010. Their upstate factory will process and manufacture the silicon-derived “cells” which other firms will turn into those familiar icons of renewable energy – the typical solar panel that is making its appearance on more and more buildings and homes throughout the country.
SpectraWatt anticipates an initial production capacity of 60 MW in its first year, bringing 100 new jobs to New York. By 2012, the facility is expected to operate at a full capacity of 120 MW and 161 employees. The state will supply $3 million of the $81 million projected cost through the Empire State Development Corp. and an additional $1.5 million through NYSERDA. In addition, for relocating to the Poughkeepsie-Dutchess Empire Zone, the company will receive a significant tax break, as well as 200 metric tons of solar grade silicon (the raw material for most photovoltaics) per year from Globe Specialty Metals, another company that recently announced its intentions to move to the area. In exchange, Globe will receive 40 MW of hydropower from the state.
Established in the summer of 2008, less than a year later, SpectraWatt is poised to become a green job pioneer in New York. Given recent trends, it is unlikely to be the last.
Sources: “SpectraWatt Sets Up Headquarters in New York”, press release – April 7 2009, www.spectrawatt.com; “SpectraWatt to Tap Local High-Tech Pool”, Pougkeepsie Journal, April 8, 2009; “Governor Paterson Announces New Solar Cell Manufacturer to Move to Dutchess County”, press release – April 7, 2009, www.ny.gov/governor; Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation website, www.thinkdutchess.com.
Posted in Green Collar Jobs, NYSERDA, Photovoltaics, Politics, Renewables, Solar Power | Permalink
Gov. Patrick Backs Major Wind Initiative
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
Political proclamations and big gusts of wind often go together.
This paradigm of civic symbiosis was never more true than last Tuesday, when Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced plans to markedly boost his commonwealth’s wind power capacity by 2020. While Massachusetts currently produces just 7 MW of wind-generated energy annually, Patrick hopes to ramp up production to 2000 MW – enough to power 800,000 homes and 10% of overall anticipated need – by the end of the next decade. The ambitious policy will supplement his administration’s recent commitment of 250 MW of solar power by 2017.
The announcement also comes on the heels of the DOE’s 2007 decision to locate one of two planned Wind Technology Testing Centers there, spurring speculation that Massachusetts could join California as a leader in forging a green economy. In a statement issued by Governor Patrick’s office, the new center will provide a framework for the “economic rewards of technological development, entrepreneurship and jobs.” Assuming an even greater commitment to clean energy policy at the federal level by the incoming Obama administration and new DOE honcho Steven Chu, this is a trend that should continue.
Though some hurdles remain in getting locals on board (one proposed Cape Cod offshore wind farm comes to mind), Massachusetts Secretary for Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles noted that last year’s incentive-laden Mass. Green Communities Act has “municipalities around the Commonwealth… lining up to bring wind power to their communities.” In part to alleviate concerns about the blight of turbines on the seascape, the state is also formulating a comprehensive ocean-management plan to identify other suitable locations for “appropriate-scale renewable energy facilities.”
The initiative is part of a broader attempt to reduce the commonwealth’s greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 and 25% by 2020, as mandated by the 2007 Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act.
Sources: “Patrick sets 2000-MW wind-power goal”, Providence Business News; “Deval Patrick unveils big push for wind power”, Your Industry News; “Residents upset over Cape Cod wind-farm plan”, www.sfgate.com; “Massachusetts Moves Closer to Having Nation’s First Offshore Wind Farm and More Secure Energy Future” (press release; Jan. 16, 2009), www.capewind.org; “”Summary of S. 2768, The Green Communities Act”, Conservation Law Foundation; “Senate Bill, No. 534″, “Governor Patrick Sets New Goals for Wind Power” (press release; Jan. 13, 2009), www.mass.gov.
Posted in Energy, Green Collar Jobs, Legislation, Politics, Renewables, Sustainability, Technology | Permalink
The I Heart PV Solar Soiree at Southpaw! (SPECIAL LOCATION)
Monday, December 1st, 2008| December 7, 2008 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 10:00 pm |
WHERE: SOUTHPAW, 125 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn (Between Sterling and St. John’s Place). Map.
WHEN: Sunday, December 7th, 7pm-10pm.
I Heart PV is Solar One’s grassroots campaign to make New York a leading solar power adopter through legislative action.
The Solar Soiree is a new monthly event where New Yorkers can come and have fun with friends and strangers, find out about the state of solar power in New York, and get involved in the I Heart PV campaign. Activities include:
- I Heart PV info booths, and general solar-related chattiness. Find out why solar photovoltaics (PV) is so well suited for New York, and what the campaign is doing right now to put our city and state at the center of solar implementation and industry.
- The I Heart PV letter writing bar. Take your first refreshing step into local solar advocacy by writing a letter to your state senator and/or assembly member in support of pro-solar legislation on the spot with the help of our members. It’s super easy and letter writers will be lavished with great drink specials for their heroic efforts!
- Solar-Powered Toy Car Building. Fun for the inner child (involves hot glue guns and knives!!). Design, build and take home your own tiny little bundle of PV fun. Great gift idea for broke gift-givers who have loved ones and friends with relatively low expectations.
- Enjoy hours and hours of ’sun’-titled tracks spun by Southpaw’s own DJ Mikey Palms.
. . . and MUCH MORE!
FREE ENTRANCE, must be 21 to drink!
RSVP: greenrenter@solar1.org or 212 505 6050
Posted in Photovoltaics, Politics, Renewables, Solar One, Solar One Events | Permalink
New EPA Ruling Represents Potential Shift of Direction
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
In a surprise move that has potentially seismic ramifications for the energy industry, the EPA issued a ruling last Friday that will essentially halt the development of any new coal-based power plants in the United States. The ruling was issued by the agency’s appeals panel as they denied a permit to Deseret Power, an energy conglomerate looking to build a 110 MW coal-burning power plant on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Utah. As a result, more than one hundred other plants in various stages of development and construction now face an uncertain future.
Claiming that they would no longer grant permits for projects that do not adequately consider the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, the appeals board overturned a permit recently granted by the agency’s Denver office and cited a 2007 Supreme Court decision giving the EPA federal authority to regulate CO2 emissions. The decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, ruled 5-4 in favor of 12 state plaintiffs that the agency had shirked its responsibilities under the Clean Air Act and was widely perceived as a critique of the current administration’s environmental policies.
Environmentalists have hailed the new move as a harbinger of a green-friendly administration-in-waiting, though many are surprised that it has come under the aegis of a lame duck and environmentally obstinate commander-in-chief. Ultimately, whether this decision signals a belated acknowledgement of accepted scientific fact or a raise-of-the-white-flag by defeated leadership is less significant than the implication that, however we choose to meet our future energy needs, clean and renewable sources should finally get their chance.
Sources: PSD Appeal No. 07-03, Environmental Appeals Board, United States Environmental Protection Agency;“EPA ruling over climate jeopardizes coal plants”, Reuters; “EPA Blocks Coal Plant, Could Change Power Landscape”, The Huffington Post (Nov. 14, 2008);“EPA Coal Decision Levels Playing Field for Wind, Solar”, Wired Science; “EPA Coal Decision Could Pave Way for Renewable Energy”, EcoGeek; “EPA ruling halts all new coal-fired power plants”, Scientific American; “Massachusetts, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al.”, Supreme Court of the United States, #05-1120; “Supreme Court: Heat-Trapping Carbon Dioxide is Pollution”, National Resources Defense Council (press release); “Justices say EPA Has Power to Act on Harmful Gases”, The New York Times (April 3, 2007).
Posted in Global Warming, Legislation, Politics, Sustainability | Permalink
Watch the 3rd and Final Presidential Debate at Solar 1!
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008| October 15, 2008 | ||
| 9:00 pm | to | 11:00 pm |
Solar One is hosting a debate party on Wednesday October 15 at 9pm! Bring your friends, family or just yourself and watch the final act of this incredible, historic election cycle. We’ll serve some light refreshments, and have chairs available on a first come, first serve basis. It may be a bit chilly that night, so dress warm and bring a blanket, a dog or a loved one!
Posted in Politics, Solar One, Solar One Events | Permalink
Finally!
Monday, October 6th, 2008Not-quite-lost among the hubbub of the passage of the $700B bailout/rescue package last week was the inclusion in the bill of an 8-year extension of the federal tax credits for renewable energy projects. If you haven’t been following this saga all year, you may not know that this was the 9th time (!) that these incentives had been included in a bill this year. The current set of incentives was set to expire at the end of the year, and their extension was seen as vital to the continued health and growth of the renewable energy industry (especially solar) in this country. As a political hot potato, the incentives were defeated on their own as part of the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 and the Energy Independence and Tax Relief Act of 2008 and also when included as part of other bills like the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (in a situation where John McCain could have helped get the bill to a vote on the Senate floor, but opted not to vote at all – the legislation was then passed with the energy tax breaks stripped out of it) and an Iraq War funding bill (when Republicans wanted to include the funding without a corresponding offset in revenue that Democrats demanded). Indeed, you could be forgiven for throwing up your hands after the 9th or 10th e-mail pleading with you to write or call your congressional representatives about the crucial piece of legislation that would finally put this madness behind us, or even for thinking that the incentives were destined to die on the vine.
The financial rescue package, however, offered one last chance to get the extension passed before the end of the year. Regardless of your sentiments on the “pork” attached to the final bill, the inclusion of these incentives is a lot more palatable than some of the other special favors that found their way in. The total package includes somewhere in vicinity of $17-$18 billion in tax credits for power generated by solar, wind and other renewable sources through 2016. It looks like the coal industry managed to get a piece of the action as well, but in the spirit of compromise, we’ll overlook that little tidbit for now. What’s important is that the incentives make renewables more readily able to compete on cost with traditional (i.e. dirty) sources of energy. One important change to note was the removal of the cap of $2,000 of incentives for residential projects. This means that the cost of residential solar projects just got reduced even further. When you combine these federal incentives with the already existing incentives at the state and local levels, the economics of solar really start to make sense for more and more customers. ASES has a more complete rundown on the provisions – which also include elements covering energy efficient buildings and plug-in hybrids – on their website.
For more information on solar check out our PV resource page. And the Power Naturally site can answer many of your questions about the process of buying and installing solar panels.
Posted in Energy, Legislation, Photovoltaics, Politics | Permalink
Solar One at the Annual Night Out Against Crime
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
On Tuesday, August 5th, the 13th Police Precinct held the Annual National Night Out Against Crime by opening up the schoolyard on 20th Street and Second Avenue to local organizations and providing music, free food and ice cream to neighborhood residents. Solar One’s information table was a big success. Councilman Dan Garodnick stopped by to say hello and wish us well. Several hundred people got to know more about Solar One’s green arts and education programs and received free CFL light bulbs when they joined our mailing list. Fun was had by all.
Posted in Art, Energy Efficiency, New York City, Other Events, Politics, Solar One, Sustainability | Permalink
Introducing the New York City “Solar Empowerment Zone”!
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
Today, the New York City Council’s Infrastructure Task Force convened what was arguably the most substantive public forum ever held on the complex subject of distributed energy sources and the New York City electricity grid. During the course of the four hour hearing, which was hosted by Hunter College and included three separate panels of experts from the academic, engineering and business communities, solar photovoltaics were singled out during much of the conversation as the leading clean energy prospect for the five boroughs. A number of cost and technical issues were raised and discussed at length, but perhaps the single most exciting idea to emerge from the hearing was that of the Solar Empowerment Zone.
The term, coined by Council Member Dan Garodnick, describes a policy that would identify areas of the city wherein properties would be eligible for extensive incentives for solar investment. While the policy idea is in its earliest stages of development, zones would be designated on the basis of their vulnerability to summertime power disruption, as well as prevailing building type (buildings with few stories and large roofs would be given highest preference). Zones would be designed to scale up solar capacity in the city at an exponential, rather than incremental rate. Realization of the concept would establish, irrefutably, the Big Apple’s leadership position on the national stage in renewable energy adoption and innovative policy making.
Solar One staff consulted closely with Council Member Garodnick in the planning of the hearing, and moving forward, will mobilize its I Heart PV campaign in support of the Solar Empowerment Zone policy. We thank Council Members Garodnick and James for their leadership, hard work and vision.
Stay tuned for the next developments in this very encouraging policy direction.
Click here to read the NYT blog synopsis of the hearing.
Posted in Energy, Green Building, Photovoltaics, Politics, Renewables, Solar One, Sustainability | Permalink
