3. Brooklyn Navy Yards
Photo courtesy Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a rapidly growing microcity located in the former shipping industrial hub nestled in between Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene, and Williamsburg containing over 300 businesses. The large-scale industrial hub, once the site of the United States Navy 1806 to 1966, is gaining attention once again for its implementation of 3,152 rooftop solar panels in September 2016.
The panels currently generate 1.1 million kilowatts (kW) [amount of energy generated] of energy (enough to power 88 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.4 million pounds per year), enough to create the majority of the energy that the industrial hub uses daily.
For the Navy Yards, the introduction of solar renewable energy to the industrial hub comes as a means of reducing the city’s collective carbon footprint and moving towards supporting the complex’s future. “We’re doubling jobs at the navy yard, and those workers and machines will need sustainable energy,” Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said in an interview with the New York Daily News in September 2016.
According to Brooklyn Navy Yards CEO and President David Ehrenberg, tenants also appreciate the increased environmental consciousness and peace of mind that solar power provides.
Funding for the project cost $625,863.83 and was covered entirely by NYSERDA incentives and ConEdison Solutions. According to the Office of Mayor de Blasio, the Brooklyn Navy Yards project will allow the City to make a significant step towards the Mayor’s goal of generating 100 megawatts yearly from public buildings and sites by the year 2025.