The benefits of white and green roofs are nothing new to us, but a recent study by two top NYC universities has shed light on just how effective these non-traditional roofs can be at lowering building temperatures. Non-reflective dark roofs are known to exacerbate the urban heat island effect and do absolutely nothing to reduce storm water runoff, which is why New York City sewers overflow almost every time it rains. But a recent study released by Columbia University and City University of New York has found that greening NYC rooftops or adding a few coats of white paint can reduce temperatures by as much as 84%! Just think how much that could help you out on your electricity bill this summer.

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The Spectra Pipeline, which will bring natural gas to new areas around New York and New Jersey, has been given the green light. Also called the NJ-NY Expansion Project, it was finally approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and received with a mixed response.  The pipeline was approved as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 report to divert reliance upon coal energy, but the construction of the pipeline could be invasive for some residents.

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A proposal backed by Google for a wind power transmission line stretching from Virginia to New Jersey cleared a major regulatory hurdle on Monday. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced that the Atlantic Wind Connection could move forward because there was “no competitive interest” for the proposal which would deliver 7000 megawatts of wind turbine generated electricity to the East Coast’s grid. The government’s green light on granting a right of way to the oceanic transmission line paves the way for the project’s sponsors to begin an environmental impact statement.

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Yesterday, a group named the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York held an event at the state capitol in Albany to present a “Declaration of Rights” to drill for natural gas on their land. Joined by Republican state senators who are against the state’s current moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the press conference addressed what some upstate landowners decry as the “movement to deny people the right to develop their land.” The state legislature in now mulling an outright ban on fracking, and energy companies have already begun to consider waterless methods to skirt the state’s moratorium.

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Building green in New York City just got a whole lot easier. The New York City Council has updated some archaic zoning laws, enabling energy efficient and solar-powered buildings to be constructed with ease. Citywide zoning regulations, called Zone Green, will now allow for both rooftop solar systems, as well as wind turbines to be more easily installed by cutting permit costs and eliminating bureaucratic red tape. The new ordinances are expected to save $15 billion in energy costs.

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photo © Elvert Barnes via Creative Commons

The MTA has turned to green energy to help make subway rides a little more pleasant for riders. A system of solar panels has been installed at the Smith-Ninth Street F and G train stop near the elevated Culver Viaduct. The solar energy harnessed from the panels will fuel track lubricators, creating a smoother ride.

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Green Map, the open source system that maps everything eco, is one of our go-to resources for discovering sustainable businesses, local initiatives, and green-living resources. Now the organization has just launched a new map that’s tracking everything energy-related in New York City. Aptly called the NYC Energy Map, the new guide shows green and LEED buildings, bike lanes, solar power systems, parks, pedestrian plazas, and much more. With more than 460 places currently mapped, the NYC Energy Map visualizes the abundance of sustainable energy in New York City.

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New plans to extract natural gas and oil from shale could bypass New York’s hydraulic fracturing moratorium. The waterless fracking method uses propane instead of the conventional method that pumps a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals deep underground. Wells that would be fracked using this technology are spread across 135,000 acres in Tioga County, 200 miles northwest of New York City.

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Thanks to new solar arrays atop ten city buildings, including three police stations, two schools, a fire station, and sanitation department garages, New York City has tripled its solar power production. Mayor Bloomberg made the announcement yesterday during a press conference at the offices of a new tech start-up, Efficiency 2.0. The new projects bring the city’s total solar production to 648 kilowatts, which is enough to power 143 households.

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The towering Wonder Wheel ride has been the symbol of Coney Island for over 90 years. This coming summer, Deno’s Wonder Wheel will step into the 21st Century with a new set of solar-powered lights!  The solar renovation will return the amusement ride to its glittering 1920s splendor.

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image via Spectra Energy

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has endorsed the proposal for a natural gas pipeline that will stretch through New York City and New Jersey and hook into Con Edison’s system. The proposal, which has faced opposition in both states, is waiting for a final vote from the commission. Tapping into a pipeline in the West Village, the line would bring “cleaner” energy to parts of the New York area. But like we’ve said many times before, natural gas is far from clean, and we believe the $850 million that would go towards this project would be much better spent on renewable sources like solar and wind energy.

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Freshkills Park, the massive restoration project that’s transforming what used to be the world’s largest landfill into public green space, is one step closer to receiving its long awaited solar and wind power. The city issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from private contractors to build solar and wind installations on the site to power 6,000 homes. The plan for renewable energy in Freshkills Park has been talked about since the park’s inception, and this is a huge step in making the plan a reality.

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Fresh on the heals of NYC’s announcement for a clean energy project at Freshkills Park, a study just released by New York State and NOAA aims to make off-shore wind development become a reality sooner than later. The study reveals environmentally sensitive areas as well as commercial shipping lanes with the goal of helping wind developers quickly determine good sites to install wind farms without having to wait for a long environmental review for each project. And since New York is hot on the trail for developing substantial renewable energy projects, the study could not come too soon.

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In a step to help New Yorkers conserve water, the Department of Environmental Protection will soon offer vouchers to those who convert to low-flow toilets. As part of the Bloomberg administration plan to conserve resources, homeowners and landlords will be offered a $125 rebate if they switch over to more eco-friendly toilets. The incentive will start early next year, saving both the city and landlords money, as well as resources!

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New York City makes a lot of waste – 3 million tons to be exact — and it costs the city $300 million to export it away from our lovely city streets. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is on a roll trying to divert that waste from the landfill and has now put out a request for proposal (RFP) for a waste management facility that can turn NYC’s solid refuse into energy. The city won’t help build the facility, but it promises to pay a per-ton fee for all of the refuse that it sends there once it is created. With NYC’s waste currently creating 728,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, building a low-emissions conversion facility is a great way to lower the city’s greenhouse gasses while putting to use all the things that residents throw in the garbage can.

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This week the town of Dryden, New York won a court case giving it the right to ban hydrofracking for natural gas within its borders. The case is a major victory for fracking opponents nationwide, and here’s how it all went down: The Marcellus Shale, the largest deposit of shale gas in the United States runs underneath the town of Dryden in upstate New York. Due to the gas jackpot, the Anschutz Exploration Corporation purchased 22,000 acres of drilling rights in the town. Before Anschutz could get to the gold, however, the Dryden Town Board passed a drilling ban. Anschutz then sued the town alleging their actions weren’t legal, but on Tuesday, Justice Phillip R. Rumsey of State Supreme Court said it was completely legal. Now Anschutz is out $5 million that they spent securing now unusable rights in the quaint northeast town.

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Aerial view of the area where the Brooklyn-Queens pipeline would run

Brooklyn and Queens homes may soon be powered by natural gas instead of heavily polluting number 4 and number 6 heating oils. On February 7, a bill for construction of a new three-mile pipeline sailed through the House of Representatives. The pipeline would traverse under Jacob Riis Park and the Gateway National Recreation Area in Queens and through a small part of southern Brooklyn. The plan has been met with little criticism, and NY1 reports that it is part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative for a more sustainable city powered by cleaner energy. However, we can’t help but be ticked off by this, as natural gas is not a sustainable resource nor is it a source of clean, renewable energy.

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New York City urban planners now have an important tool to help create energy reduction plans. An interactive map of New York has been developed by the Columbia University Engineering School to show the energy consumption of individual buildings across the five boroughs. Users can select a building on the map, see how much energy it uses, and what it uses the energy for. The data will help planners initiate energy conservation programs and know exactly which buildings and areas to target.

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On Thursday, January 27, the Manhattan Borough President, Scott Stringer spoke in front of a 3 KW set of solar panels on Hunter College of the City University to promote his “Rooftop Revolution” campaign and the New York Solar Jobs Act. “On this rooftop and on rooftops across this city we can create the economy we need,” said Stringer. The panels on Hunter are a result of a three-year student-led initiative, and for Stringer, the panels symbolize what could be a city-wide program of solar installations on public schools.

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We’ve been closely following Verdant Power‘s tidal turbine tests in the East River, and on Monday, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission awarded the company the agency’s first license for a tidal-energy project. This is extremely exciting news, and it means that New York City’s grid could be getting power from the East River by next year! Verdant signed a 10-year contract for the 1,050-kilowatt turbine installation, officially called the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy (RITE) Project, which is designed to bring power to nearly 10,000 New Yorkers on the residential island.

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While Lower Manhattan is chock-full of skyscrapers, one in particular has a shiny top unlike any other in the country. The Deutsche Bank American Headquarters at 60 Wall Street now dons a 122.4kW solar array that is not only the largest in Manhattan, but also the tallest flat panel PV array in the world, soaring 737 feet above ground. Part of the company’s global goal toward sustainable building, the newly installed array aims to reduce the carbon emissions of the building by 100 metric tons per year.

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The Queens Library Foundation announced this week that it is partnering with the Community Environmental Center (CEC) of Long Island City to retrofit five branches of the Queens Library and create green education programs for the community. The $250,000 project is funded by the Greening Western Queens Fund of North Star Fund and is set to begin by the end of the month.

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Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recent 2012 State of the State address put an emphasis on boosting renewable energy resources this year, and his initiatives are already being put into action. New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the state Public Service Commission (PSC) recently announced that they will allocate $30 million for much needed solar energy funding. The large scale solar projects will produce renewable energy for New York City and the Hudson Valley.

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The developers of what could become the first offshore wind farm in the United States have announced that they are poised to begin construction as soon as the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approves their plan for a 25 megawatt project which will be 2.8 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. The decision is expected to be made in March on the 5 turbine project that will provide power for 10,000 homes. When constructed, it will be the first piece of the East Coast offshore wind backbone which has been financially backed by such power players as Google as well as the federal government.

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