Distributed Sun: Renewables for NYC Tech Campus

Nine gigawatt-hours per year of integrated solar, geothermal, and fuel cell power sources

Shayle Kann November 10, 2011

Shayle Kann

Senior Vice President, Greentech Media & Head of GTM Research
Greentech Media

Shayle Kann leads GTM Research, the market analysis, advisory and consulting division of Greentech Media. GTM Research analyzes and forecasts the dynamics impacting the transformation of the global electricity sector. An expert on next-generation energy, he has presented at conferences around the world, been featured in publications such as The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Forbes, Bloomberg, Reuters, and Financial Times, spoken at Harvard, Yale, MIT and Columbia, and testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Last month, Distributed Sun (D-SUN) and Washington Gas Energy Systems announced plans to co-develop and finance the on-site renewable energy solutions for Cornell University’s proposed NYC Tech Campus on New York City’s Roosevelt Island.

The Cornell proposal includes renewable energy generation from integrated solar, geothermal, and fuel cell power sources to contribute approximately nine gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. D-SUN will provide distributed solar arrays totaling 1.8 megawatts, as well as a geothermal system with 400 wells at 500-foot depths across four acres. Additionally, fuel cells will generate 22,500 million British thermal units from natural gas per year. This mix of renewable energy solutions has the potential to reduce conventional electricity consumption at the campus by as much as 75 percent.

According to D-SUN CEO Chase Weir, the project is a “truly unique opportunity for the city of New York to apply and demonstrate the vision of tomorrow’s renewable energy solutions at an applied sciences campus.” If built today, the NYC Tech Campus would deliver the largest geothermal and solar installations in the city and the largest net-zero building in the eastern United States, according to the CEO.

Source: Distributed Sun

The $1 billion-plus campus is being situated toward the arc of the sun to maximize solar energy potential. Weir stated: “This is a remarkable testament to the advance of solar in the U.S. and around the world -- to have an entire campus and an architectural landmark designed and pointed toward the arc of the sun for maximum solar output. That’s a good indication of where tomorrow’s energy generation is truly headed."

An Applied Sciences NYC advisory committee is set to review proposals and announce the winner of the proposal as soon as January 1, 2012.