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SIPA Students Making a Difference in Solar Energy
Thanks to a 2009 SIPA study, New York City is moving forward with plans to install solar panels atop two closed landfills. The program, announced last week by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, could generate power for 50,000 homes and help the city reduce carbon gas emissions.
The parameters of the project were outlined through research conducted by SIPA Professor Stephen Hammer and his students on the feasibility of installing solar panels atop closed landfills.
“We were commissioned by the Parks Department to undertake this analysis,” said Hammer, former director of the Urban Energy Project at the Center for Energy, Marine Transportation, and Public Policy and now a now a consultant on urban energy and climate projects around the world. “They had heard about work previous classes had done for City Hall, looking at the viability of renewable power technologies around New York City.”
The SIPA study examined the feasibility of a large scale solar installation at the old Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, now being developed as Freshkills Park. In its study, the student team concluded that a 24-megawatt project was most practical, considering the geographic constraints of the site and ConEdison's connection requirements.
Hammer says the team had a fantastic blend of talents.
“It included an engineer who previously worked as a solar PV installer,” said Hammer. “We had folks with Wall Street and management consulting experience, and students who had just returned from summer internships where they examined incentive programs to promote solar deployment around the United States.
The study was apparently convincing, says Hammer, because the city is now moving forward at two other facilities.
Alex Burnett, April 25, 2011