Advocates Bring Solar Power, Green Jobs To Upper Manhattan

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — A coalition of environmental advocacy groups, government officials and forward-thinking energy companies braved the cold Wednesday to celebrate the successful installation of solar panels on the roof of a co-op building.

The new solar panels at 128 W. 138th Street — a Housing Development Fund Corporation affordable housing co-op — are one of eleven sets of solar panels that will be installed on eleven building rooftops in Upper Manhattan through the Solar Uptown Now initiative. The solar panels are expected to offset more than 4,000 tons of greenhouse emissions, save building residents more than $1.7 million in energy costs and generate power for more than 900 residents throughout their 25-year lifespan, Cecil Corbin-Mark of WE ACT for Environmental Justice said Wednesday.

Solar Uptown Now was launched in 2016 by groups such as WE ACT, Solar One and the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board to provide community-focused approaches to expanding solar energy to low-income communities and communities of color.

"Climate change is a threat multiplier, in that it builds upon layers of existing challenges — including public health, economic and racial injustices," Corbin-Mark said in a statement.

Corbin-Mark added Wednesday that studies performed by the solar industry showed that women and people of color struggled for equal pay and job opportunities within the industry. For those reasons, We ACT has trained more than 90 community members in solar panel installation, five of whom were hired by Grid City Energy to work on buildings in the Solar Uptown Now initiative.

Nine HDFC co-op buildings and two market-rate apartment buildings will receive solar panels through Solar Uptown Now. The panels will provide energy for building common areas such as hallways, lobbies, lights, elevators and laundry facilities. Most of the buildings are located in Harlem, with one building located in Washington Heights. As of Wednesday, installations are complete at four buildings.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said that the Solar Uptown Now initiative is "beyond special" and proof that communities "don't have to be rich to have solar panels." Brewer compared the success of community-focused approaches to climate change to the ineffectiveness of national politicians to address the issue.

"For somebody like me, who sees what works and what doesn't work — this works," Brewer said. "In Washington they're taking over offices and talking about committees, and they all want renewable energy. Well guess what? You're doing it."

Photos by Brendan Krisel/Patch