Since the New York City Council voted in October to close the notorious jail complex on Rikers Island there has been no shortage of ideas for how the city should move on with this rare development opportunity. One such plan, in line with the historic passage of the City’s own Green New Deal, would see a large swath of the 415-acre island converted into a renewable energy hub.
According to an article published by The New York Times on Monday, “Available: A 415-Acre Island With Manhattan Views. What to Build?“, three New York City council members have already submitted legislation to transform 100 acres of the island into an array of solar panels and energy storage systems, including City Councilmember Costa Constantinides, whose district includes the island.
The City’s passage of its own Green New Deal calls for a carbon-neutral city by 2050, and a new solar energy hub on Rikers would further this important push. Currently, the city has come to rely on a series of “natural-gas-fired plants” powering generators known as “peakers” during times of high energy use. These systems, mostly located in minority and low-income neighborhoods contribute to the overall degradation of health in those areas and could easily be refitted with new, modern solar and lithium-ion battery backup technology.
As an emerging presence in the New York State renewable-energy scene, we at Green Idle believe that the conversion of the Rikers Island facility into a renewable and solar energy hub would be beneficial to not just the city but New York State as a whole and would put us on a stronger footing to meet our carbon-neutral goal outlined in the city’s own Green New Deal.
The Green Idle solution can go even further, powering all vital infrastructure reliably while removing fossil fuel from the equation. Our technology’s efficient solar power generation systems utilize Lithionic Battery’s advanced power storage technology, providing continuous reliable power while our superior storage systems allow for its use on days when even the sun isn’t shining. A Green Idle powered system can not only come online with full power storage and capability, but it can also generate more power while doing so, replenishing itself with no operator requirements at all.
That’s why we see so many ways to begin replacing fossil-fuel burning engines with solar power. The city’s constuction industry rely on so many gas generators, there are 130+ pages of city code regulating their use. Green Idle can eliminate all of them and replace them with solar power that can charge once and supply a week’s worth of power. Film locations, which can be seen all over the city, use hundreds of gas and diesel generators that choke our neighborhoods. Green Idle is already working with the film industry to outfit dressing, makeup, and bathroom trailers with clean solar power.
We would like to thank City Councilman Constantinides and all those supporting this vital legislation for keeping community health and safety as a top priority and for pushing for an innovative yet crucial upgrade to our City’s aging power grid and infrastructure as we work to meet our new, green standards, so that New York City can remain a happy, healthy place for people to live for future generations to come.
