Solar Energy
Queens Landlord Will Complete Borough’s Largest Residential Solar Energy Project by End of 2021
A Queens landlord has installed solar technology on more than half the buildings it owns in the borough, part of an ambitious project that will eventually transform its entire portfolio and produce enough clean energy to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of 5 million vehicle miles driven each year
Solar panels have been installed on 26 of the 45 buildings Zara Realty owns and manages in Queens, enough to power more than 125 households, producing 1.3 million kilowatt hours (kWh), about half the 2.7 million kilowatt hours (kWh) that will be produced when the project is complete at the end of 2021.
Zara is converting all energy use in the common areas of its Queens buildings to clean solar energy, which will also be equivalent to eliminating the carbon emissions of 355 homes and 432 cars over the course of a year. The annual energy savings would equal the carbon sequestered by 2,393 acres of forest, or by the planting of 33,617 new trees.
Nearly 3,000 of the planned 6,500 panels have been installed and are currently supplying energy. The $6.5 million installation project is being carried out by Premier Solar Solutions, a veteran-owned New York based solar installation company. The project supports 50 jobs.
Construction was briefly delayed in spring 2020 as a result of the pandemic but was resumed when solar energy installation was declared essential by New York State.
“”If there is one thing this last year of challenges has made clear, it’s that we all must do whatever we can to help one another and help our planet,” said Tony Subraj, co-Managing Partner at Zara Realty.
“As property owners, we are continually making key investments in infrastructure to secure quality housing for generations. As part of that mission, Zara Realty feels it is important to make those investments part of our commitment to leaving a cleaner, greener world for our children. Renewable energy is the future, and Zara Realty has always striven to be at the forefront of the effort to improve our environment.””
“”Climate change is one of the most urgent crises facing our world and New York City will be particularly vulnerable to its effects,” said Amir Sobhraj, co-Managing Partner at Zara Realty.
“”We have a collective responsibility to do what is within our power to reduce carbon emissions, and as landlords we have a unique role to play. This solar energy upgrade will mean cleaner air, a brighter future for the coming generations, and it will ultimately reduce costs.””
“Zara Realty has shown tremendous vision and commitment to renewable energy and this project should serve as a model for other landlords in New York,” said Chris Hoffmann President/Founder of Premier Solar Solutions.
“The city and the state have laid out a path to being carbon-free, and this is precisely the type of work it will take to get there. As a Queens native, it makes me so happy to see my home borough at the cutting edge of this effort to realize the goal of clean, renewable energy to ensure our future.”
“Investing in solar energy is the right thing to do for our environment, for our quality of life, and, ultimately for our bottom lines,” said Stephen Owen, Managing Partner/Founder of Sol Alliance. “By making the investment into renewables now, landlords like Zara Realty are helping to reduce the massive carbon footprint of New York City, and they are showing the world how converting to solar is both practical and imperative.”
“The Queens Chamber is proud to see a great Queens business, Zara Realty, leading the way when it comes to social responsibility,” said Thomas Grech, President and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.
“Zara’s commitment to solarizing their building stock is the right thing to do for our environment and ensuring that Queens residents have a great place to live for generations to come. We are delighted to see our Chamber members, Premier Solar Solutions, which is taking the lead on this important project, and Sol Alliance, working together to show that our borough is on the cutting edge of creating the green energy jobs of tomorrow.”
The project aligns with the state’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV), which aims to reduce greenhouse gases by 40% and to generate 70% of the state’s electricity from renewable resources by 2030, in addition to the city’s OneNYC plan, which aims to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050. According to OneNYC, nearly 75 percent of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere in New York City comes from buildings.
Installation of the solar panels on Zara’s 45 buildings will be designed to maximize efficiency by using standard panels affixed to racking systems and panels that lift and tilt above the roofline to ensure every available surface is used.
Argonne to lead National Energy Storage Research Hub
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 05, 2024
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Argonne National Laboratory to lead the newly established Energy Storage Research Alliance (ESRA), a national hub focused on advancing energy storage technologies. The ESRA, co-led by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), is one of two new Energy Innovation Hubs announced by the DOE.
Bringing together nearly 50 leading researchers from three national laboratories and 12 universities, ESRA aims to address the most critical challenges in battery technology, such as safety, high-energy density, and the development of long-duration storage solutions using cost-effective and abundant materials. The initiative is designed to push the boundaries of energy storage science, fostering innovation and strengthening the competitive edge of the U.S. in this crucial field.
“The demand for high-performance, low-cost and sustainable energy storage devices is on the rise, especially those with potential to deeply decarbonize heavy-duty transportation and the electric grid,” stated Shirley Meng, ESRA director and chief scientist at the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science. “To achieve this, energy storage technology must reach levels of unprecedented performance, surpassing the capabilities of current lithium-ion technology. The key to making these transformative leaps lies in a robust research and development initiative firmly grounded in basic science.”
Leveraging decades of investment in fundamental science, ESRA will focus on transformative discoveries in materials chemistry, a deeper understanding of electrochemical processes at the atomic level, and establishing the scientific foundations necessary for major advancements in energy storage technology.
“ESRA creates an energy storage research ecosystem with the mission to rapidly innovate, shorten the time between basic discovery and technology development, and train the next-generation workforce,” commented Bryan McCloskey, ESRA deputy director for scientific thrusts and a faculty engineer at Berkeley Lab.
The success of ESRA’s efforts will lead to the development of high-energy batteries that are fire-resistant, capable of providing long-duration storage for multiple days, have a lifespan of several decades, and are constructed from low-cost, widely available materials.
“ESRA will pave the way for innovative energy storage solutions that drive both U.S. prosperity and security,” said Argonne Director Paul Kearns. “As the lead laboratory for ESRA under the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Argonne takes pride in spearheading this collaborative effort that unites world-leading experts and taps the impressive scientific resources available in national labs and academia.”
The DOE has committed up to $62.5 million in funding for ESRA over the next five years.
In addition to its research goals, the Argonne-led hub will prioritize training a diverse, next-generation battery workforce to meet future manufacturing demands. This will be achieved through innovative training programs that involve industry, academia, and government partnerships.
“Cultivating a diverse workforce dedicated to safeguarding America’s energy resilience is key to ESRA’s mission,” noted Wei Wang, ESRA deputy director for crosscuts and director of the Energy Storage Materials Initiative at PNNL. “Through our strategic equity and inclusion initiatives, we plan to create a robust training ground for energy storage science from the undergraduate to postdoctoral levels.”
With Berkeley Lab and PNNL as co-leads, the ESRA collaboration brings together comprehensive expertise across the energy storage spectrum. Their state-of-the-art capabilities in technology discovery, modeling and simulation, and materials synthesis and characterization complement those of Argonne, setting the stage for significant advancements in energy storage.
Argonne is joined by 14 partners in this initiative, all of whom are deeply involved in ESRA’s scientific endeavors, governance, strategic development, and the training of the next generation of battery scientists and engineers. This collaboration among national laboratories and universities is vital for discovering new materials, accelerating the development of technology, and commercializing new energy storage innovations.
Related Links
Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
UN’s Guterres says China-Africa ties can drive ‘renewable energy revolution’
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Sept 5, 2024
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told African leaders Thursday that expanding ties between China and the continent could “drive the renewable energy revolution”.
Guterres and more than 50 African leaders are attending this week’s China-Africa forum, according to state media.
Guterres told the gathering that “China’s remarkable record of development — including on eradicating poverty — provides a wealth of experience and expertise”.
“It can be a catalyst for key transitions on food systems and digital connectivity,” he said.
“And as home to some of the world’s most dynamic economies, Africa can maximise the potential of China’s support in areas from trade to data management, finance and technology,” Guterres added.
Guterres also told the leaders it was time to correct “historic injustices” against the continent.
“It is outrageous… that the continent of Africa has no permanent seat on the Security Council,” he said.
Related Links
Major Qatari plant to double solar capacity by 2030: minister
by AFP Staff Writers
Doha (AFP) Sept 1, 2024
A large new solar plant planned in Qatar will double the Gulf emirate’s previously projected renewable energy capacity by 2030, Qatari Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi announced on Sunday.
The photovoltaic farm, which will be built in the Dukhan area some 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of the capital Doha, will increase the gas-rich state’s solar production capacity to four gigawatts by the end of the decade, Kaabi said.
The plant “that will be established in Dukhan area will produce 2,000 megawatts, which is twice more than the capacity of Qatar’s production of solar energy of the current projects,” the minister, who is also chief executive of state-owned QatarEnergy, said.
In October 2022, Qatar inaugurated its first large-scale solar farm at al-Kharsaah, west of Doha. The emirate announced in August of the same year another solar project with two plants at Ras Laffan in the north.
Through the combined projects, including at Dukhan, Qatar would achieve “4,000 megawatts of clean energy by 2030”, Kaabi said.
This will “constitute 30 percent of the total production of energy of the state of Qatar” with a yearly reduction of “4.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions,” he added.
Kaabi said the existing projects should produce 1.7 gigawatts of energy “in first quarter of next year, or early next year”.
The energy minister also announced plans to more than double Qatar’s urea production making the country the largest producer of the fertiliser in the world by the end of the decade.
He said Qatar would “maximise the production of chemical fertilisers” through “a complex with global standards” which would “increase our production capacity from 6 million tonnes annually to more than 12.4 million tonnes annually”.
Qatar is one of the world’s top liquefied natural gas producers alongside the United States, Australia and Russia. Natural gas is a major ingredient in urea manufacturing.
In February, Qatar announced plans to expand its output from its North Field project, saying it will boost capacity to 142 million tonnes per year before 2030.
Over the past year, Qatar has inked a series of long-term LNG deals with France’s Total, Britain’s Shell, India’s Petronet, China’s Sinopec and Italy’s Eni among others.
csp/dcp
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