New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says solar arrays will be placed on 47 New York City public schools and several water treatment facilities.
Construction will start in early 2022, she said in an Oct. 20 statement, following the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs).
The joint project between the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will generate more than 25 megawatts (MW) of power from rooftop solar arrays and include up to 6.6 MW of energy storage.
The PPAs are with ENGIE North America, Ameresco, Inc., and the City of New York for the purchase of the electricity output from the solar and energy storage systems. ENGIE will design, construct, own and operate the solar PV systems at the NYC DOE sites. Ameresco will perform the same tasks at the DEP sites. The developers were selected in 2020 through an open, competitive bidding process. Construction will start in early 2022 and the systems will be phased into operation in 2022 and 2023.
“With extreme weather events increasing in frequency, New York needs to take every possible opportunity to address climate change,” Hochul said in a statement. “This transformational investment in solar and energy storage will help New York meet our bold green energy goals and chart a cleaner future.”
