A community approach to solar power comes to Brooklyn

In Sunset Park, Brooklyn, there’s a new concept in solar that could benefit people or families who don’t live in a house.

Sunset Solar is a project that is expected to come online this year. It’s a cooperative approach to solar. 

UPROSE, a community organization in Brooklyn, is constructing New York State’s first owned community solar project. It’s being built on top of the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation arranged the roof lease. Up to 200 residents can sign up for the program.

Mayor de Blasio's record on climate change: it's complicated

Climate justice activists like UPROSE’s Executive Director Elizabeth Yeampierre also criticize the mayor’s approach, giving him only a passing grade. 

“I would give him a C. I think that he had an opportunity to take the momentum that existed under the Bloomberg administration and amp that up, and what we saw was a level of passivity that was inconsistent to what we were learning about climate change.”

Proposal To Reactivate Brooklyn Port For A Wind Turbines Plant

The activist group UPROSE, which helped to defeat the Industry City rezoning that would have accommodated big-box retail, hotels and tech companies next to the port proposal site, says the Equinor proposal builds for a sustainable future. 

"The vision is what we call a just transition, is exactly the manifestation of things we've been talking about," says UPROSE Executive Director Elizabeth Yeampierre. “To take the spaces, particularly industrial spaces, and repurpose them to address climate adaptation, mitigation and resilience."

The city has committed $57 million to upgrade the site. If the state approves the project, the state Energy Research and Development Authority would chip in $200 million, matched by private money. A decision is expected next month.