by Michael S. Schoenwald Can solar energy find space on the Upper East Side? Summer means warm temperatures and ample sunshine, ripe conditions for solar power use. Has solar energy been harnessed as a way to power the homes and businesses of the Upper East Side? The answer lies partly in the design of the tall buildings that dominate the area. The installation of solar panels requires an adequate amount of roof space, and that space must have sufficient sun exposure. These issues become a problem for an area such as Manhattan where single families do not own much roof space, and the height of neighboring buildings varies widely. "Solar is very sensitive to shade," explained Gregory Sherman, a consultant for Manhattan-based BASIC (Big Apple Solar Installation Commitment). Sherman's company, involved in solar consulting, education, and sub-contracting projects, has done no installations on the Upper East Side. He added that because of the high cost of installing the proper equipment many homeowners choose solar energy for environmental reasons instead of economics. More specifically, a New York City solar company executive explained that an average home requires 500 square feet of roof space to generate the 5,000 watts of power needed for all electricity needs. In New York City, that would cost approximately $50,000, according to Alex Brody, vice-president of sales and marketing for altPOWER, located in Manhattan. The need for adequate space to install solar panels would also prohibit construction of a sun-generated power plant along the banks of one of the City's rivers, Brody explained. At the present time, altPOWER is involved in the installation of solar panels at two private schools on the Upper East Side. In existence since 2002, the company installed solar panels made from silicon, known as Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), on the sides of seven large residential buildings in downtown and midtown Manhattan. The president of a third company, Solar Energy Systems, cited high costs, excessive shading, crowded rooftops and "legal issues with connecting to the [electric] grid" as factors prohibiting solar installations on Manhattan apartment buildings. Buildings with flatter roofs and more space, such as those in Brooklyn or Queens, provide better settings, explained David Buckner. Last April, Mayor Bloomberg introduced PLANNYC 2030, designed to promote energy efficiency by reducing consumption, upgrading power plants and promoting renewable energy sources. To counter the high cost of installing and inspecting solar panels on taller buildings, the Plan's web site states that the City "will offer a property tax abatement for solar installations. The incentive will cover 35% of installation costs for the first three years of the program, with the incentive scaling back to 20% in years four and five." In addition, the City will seek out private solar developers to install, own and operate panels on municipal buildings while agreeing to purchase the sun-generated power. Can PLANNYC promote more solar installations in Manhattan? "It's decent. It takes a step in the right direction," Brody said. More funding would help. "If they wanted to encourage solar power in New York City they could have gone a lot further," he added. Buckner predicted that the Plan "will be a lot more complicated than what the mayor is thinking" because Con Edison places a limit on the amount of solar power that a commercial building can feed into the electrical grid. |
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