New York City, with its skyscrapers and dense, urban environment, may seem like an unlikely candidate for the expansion of solar power. Arizona, we are not.
But the truth is, we have a high ceiling for solar capability and an urgent need to work towards it.
Last year, at a hearing of the City Council's Infrastructure Task Force, experts and academics in the solar field estimated that half of our peak energy needs could be realistically met by harnessing the sun.
We'll need it: by 2012, our power needs will outstrip Con Edison's ability to meet the demand. By 2025, New York will require 150 percent of the power that Con Ed is currently able to provide.
What we know for sure is that we cannot meet those needs through yesterday's power-generation methods and simultaneously meet the City's goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent.
New York City's electricity-producing power plants are almost entirely powered by carbon-based fuels. They are old and inefficient, using 30 to 60 percent more fuel than they need to, which also leads to much higher costs for New Yorkers compared to power users in other cities.
The City will need to replace these plants over time. Unfortunately, Con Edison's rate payers will get stuck with the bill.
Recognizing this, New York City has in the last several years experimented in green energy, testing water current turbines in the East River to power buildings on Roosevelt Island, and seeking to install 2 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity on city-owned buildings.
That amount will more than double the City's current solar capacity, but will barely scratch the surface of the 13,000 MW that customers in the City use on an ordinary summer's day.
In order for New York to ramp up the use of alternative energy, we need to make it economically viable for the private sector to step in.
Recent changes in state law will make it easier for residents and businesses to install solar technology, and begin to use the electricity they generate themselves through "net metering" and "sell" the excess back to Con Edison.
Nevertheless, today, converting to solar power in New York is still hugely time-consuming, expensive and full of unknowns -- about everything from the capacity of the grid to how long it could take to perform necessary analysis. Not surprisingly, these hurdles are challenging the determination of even the City's most dedicated environmentalists and motivated entrepreneurs.
It's time for us to streamline the process by creating what I call "solar empowerment zones."
Away from the urban density of midtown Manhattan, New York City's industrial areas comprise huge swaths of low-rise, flat-roofed buildings conducive to solar installation. Local and state government, partnering with Con Edison, can identify these areas, determine their solar capacity, answer the unknowns about the infrastructure, and help to create cooperatives to disperse the investment costs.
By tackling large, high-potential areas, we can create economies of scale and convert to alternative energy at an exponential rather than an incremental rate.
Once we eliminate the barriers and provide the right incentives, the benefits will be felt across the system as solar power in these high-use areas relieves pressure on our grid. Con Ed's costs (and the costs for rate payers) are highest when demand is at its peak -- exactly when solar is most useful.
And by creating a market for solar where it will be most effective, solar empowerment zones can help drive down the cost of installing photovoltaic panels and performing infrastructure upgrades, helping to spur its growth beyond the industrial sector.
A consortium of city agencies, academic institutions and non-profit organizations is currently pursuing federal funds that could help get solar empowerment zones off the ground.
Without bold action, we will lose valuable time in our local fight against global warming. If our power demands do eventually surpass our supply, it will be lights out on New York's position as a global and cultural leader.
But if we continue to move forward, New York can be a model for how major cities can adapt to the demands of climate change. New York, skyscrapers and all, can still be one of the world's leading "solar cities."