Solar power more than doubled in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y., last year as Con Edison customers installed 4.5 MW of photovoltaic generation.
Con Edison, which is working with the City University of New York (CUNY) on the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar America Cities program, says it now has 8.5 MW of photovoltaic-generated electricity on its system. Customers completed 203 solar projects last year, up from 134 new installations a year earlier.
Last year, the utility shortened its approval process for residential systems under 25 kW and created a website where customers can submit their applications in an effort to streamline installations, notes Robert Schimmenti, Con Edison's vice president for engineering and planning.
CUNY and Con Edison plan to launch an interactive solar map later this year, adds Tria Case, university director of sustainability at CUNY and lead implementer of the NYC Solar America City plan. The map will be accessible to the public and is designed to help planners implement additional solar projects in New York.
SOURCE: Con Edison
