UNTAPPED SOURCE OF NEW JOBS AND CLEAN ENERGY

NEW REPORT BY BP STRINGER REVEALS THAT SOLAR PANELS ON ROOFS OF CITY'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE "A VAST, UNTAPPED SOURCE OF NEW JOBS AND CLEAN ENERGY"

The following information was released by the Office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer:

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer today issued a report revealing that the installation of solar panels on the roofs of New York City public schools could produce thousands of new jobs, and clean energy for the City. Solar energy installations and public schools are a perfect match, said Stringer. This is an idea whose time has come--a cost-effective, sensible program that will create jobs, lower energy bills and save tax dollars for decades to come.

The Borough President stressed that this is no pie in the sky proposal, noting that such programs have been launched with great success in California and New Jersey, as well as in Denver, CO, Portland, OR, San Jose, CA, Rockville, MD and Milpitas, CA. Massive solar programs are also underway in Germany and China. New York City should be a global leader, not a follower, in expanding our region's solar economy, Stringer said.

Using the City University of New York's NYC Solar Map, Stringer developed new data showing these installations could host 169.46 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity and eliminate 76,696 tons of carbon from the air each year the equivalent of planting over 400,000 trees. It would also increase solar capacity in the five boroughs by over 2,600 percent.

The Borough President also noted that that solar installations on New York's City's public school roofs could create an estimated 5,423 green collar jobs and help boost growth of the green economy for decades to come, according to an analysis by the advocacy organization New Energy New York.

The Borough President said the key to launching such efforts are so-called Power Purchase Agreements in which private vendors use renewable energy credits to install and maintain solar panels in exchange for a portion of future savings. Under these plans, New Jersey and California have installed nearly 500 and 1,000 megawatts of solar energy respectively. By contrast, New York City boasts a paltry 6.5 megawatts of publicly and privately owned solar electricity. In fact, New Jersey has become the nation's fastest growing market for solar energy. read more>>>