Feb 16 2011
Con Edison, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, has been working with the City University of New York (CUNY) on the US Department of Energy’s Solar America City Program and has now doubled its PV generated electricity to 8.5 MW.
In 2009, around 134 new solar units were installed and 203 solar projects had been completed in 2010. Robert Schimmenti, Vice President for Engineering and Planning in Con Edison revealed that they had contacted their customers and elucidated the dual environmental and economic benefits of solar power usage in businesses and homes. A website was created for customers who needed less than 25 kW for their residences for submitting their applications.
The University Director of Sustainability at CUNY and Lead Implementer of the NYC Solar America City Plan, Tria Case observed that the solar installation figures for 2010 revealed that team efforts for improving the process could aid adoption of solar energy and other renewable energy technologies by NYC. This was only a start and in the coming months an interactive Solar Map would be launched, which would be accessible for the public. This would also assist the planners to draw out a clear picture for the clean energy future of NYC.
The company’s website gives a lot of information about the installation process of the solar panels and also gives links to the website of NYC Solar America City. Also mentioned are the sites that clarify the governmental financial incentives offered. Moreover, the website also contains data on net metering, which permits customers to utilize their solar panels for reducing their energy expenses and also trade off the surplus power back to Con Edison. It is also working with both the state and city agencies along with CUNY on the 100 Days of Solar Program, which would reduce the time taken by a customer for achieving approvals for installation of solar panels with the help of greater coordination among the agencies.