New York City now generating more than 100 megawatts of solar power

New York City residents and businesses recently surpassed the 100-megawatt mark in their solar energy generation.

Utility company Con Edison, Sustainable CUNY (at the City University of New York), government agencies and other
parties have encouraged and supported the growth of solar in the city. The Solar Progress Partnership, a group of six New York utilities and four solar companies, seeks to support fair and reliable development of solar energy resources.

Con Edison’s New York City customers have completed 9,700 projects that together produce 101.2 megawatts, which is enough to power more than 15,000 homes.

“One of the most striking trends within the transformation of the energy industry is the move of customers to renewables,” Matthew Ketschke, Con Edison’s vice president of Distributed Resource Integration, said. “We want clean energy, including solar, to be available for customers of all income levels and regardless of whether they live in a house or an apartment. We also advocate policies that ensure funding for the kind of robust grid that makes solar energy possible.”

Con Edison installed 200 solar panels that produce 40 kilowatts at its headquarters in Manhattan and has proposed making solar power generated on its properties available to low-income customers, a group that often does not have access to solar energy.