Brooklyn Council Member Sandy Nurse, along with several other elected officials, introduced a new solar power bill this week.
The newly announced legislation would require New York City to accelerate solar energy installations on city-owned buildings and public properties.
The bill would implement a solar power goal of 100 Megawatts (MW) on city-owned buildings by 2025. By 2030, the energy target will expand to 150MW on NYC buildings and other public properties.
Nurse says that the legislation, which she launched a few days before the commencement of Climate Week NYC, demonstrates the Council’s commitment to addressing the current climate crisis and investing in a clean energy future.
“The climate crisis is truly at a breaking point and necessitates investments in solutions faster than we ever have before,” said Nurse.
“It is madness to wait any longer to install solar power for clean renewable energy on NYC buildings. We must rapidly draw down our use of fossil fuels at every possible opportunity. Not doing so puts our city and entire younger generations in extreme danger.”
Climate Jobs NY, a coalition of New York labor unions with a shared goal of combating climate change, said it supports the solar energy acceleration bill and that NYC schools, in particular, will benefit from the legislation if it passes.
“This is an important first step in making every New York City public school building a clean and healthy place to learn and to work in addition to creating thousands of good union green jobs,” said Lenore Friedlaender, executive director of Climate Jobs NY. “Extreme weather events like the recent wildfires remind us how urgent it is we take immediate action for a just transition to renewable energy. Let’s invest in responsible solutions to build a sustainable and just future.”
