New York City Highlighted for Solar Progress in New Report

Environment New York

For More Information:

Emma Searson, [email protected], 617-747-4414

Bret Fanshaw, [email protected], 602-252-9225

New York, NY – The City of New York ranks number seven for total and 40 for per capita installed solar energy in a new report, landing it among the nation’s leaders for installing clean energy from the sun.

“Cities like New York are leading the way to a future powered by clean, renewable energy,” said Bret Fanshaw with Environment America, Environment New York’s national office. “By tapping into more of  our vast solar energy potential, we can benefit from cleaner air and fight climate change.”

New York ranked ahead of many sunny cities, including Las Vegas, Nev., Albuquerque, N.M., and Sacramento, Calif., for total megawatts of solar energy as of year-end 2017. But, in terms of per capita solar energy, New York ranked much further down the list at number 40.

The city has used solar energy to actualize its OneNYC goal of achieving an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050, and has also established a goal of generating 1,000 MW of solar power on public buildings by 2025.

The report, Shining Cities 2018: How Smart Local Policies Are Expanding Solar Power in America, shows that the top 20 solar cities, comprising just 0.1 percent of the country’s land mass, account for 4 percent of U.S. solar capacity.

“We are in a moment when progress on renewable energy will come from cities across the country,” said Fanshaw. “More local leaders should step up and start plugging their communities into the clean and virtually limitless power of the sun.”

Shining Cities is the fifth annual report from Environment New York Research & Policy Center. Each year, the survey ranks nearly 70 of the nation’s major cities by megawatts of solar energy.