New Solar Panels Triple City's Current Production

The completion of ten new solar panel projects across the five boroughs has effectively tripled the amount of solar power that the city creates, now up to 648 kilowatts, which is enough to power 143 households.

The ten new solar project sites have a total solar photovoltaic capacity of 428 kilowatts. In Brooklyn, the project sites include (M.S. 442), in Carroll Gardens (), as well as a Department of Sanitation garage. Five other sites are in Queens, with one site in each of Manhattan, Bronx and Staten Island.

“In clean tech, New York City is leading by example and the solar projects we’ve completed will generate clean, affordable energy while cutting our carbon emissions and energy costs – goals that are central to our administration’s sustainability agenda, PlaNYC,” said Mayor Bloomberg, in a statement.

David Bragdon, Director of the Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, called the installation of the new solar panels “one example of this administration’s progress toward our PlaNYC goals to reduce our carbon footprint and encourage the development of renewable energy.”

In addition to the solar installations, federal grants helped fund other green measures, like the installation of high efficiency lighting on 12 sites throughout the city (cutting more than 917 metric tons of carbon emissions), as well as the adoption of clean vehicles, which the city says will save more than $163,000 annually.

The push for a greener future is also being felt in Windsor Terrace and Kensington, where residents recently voted to have 100 new trees planted across Dist. 39 as part of Councilman Brad Lander's participatory budgeting initiative.