Alternative Energy

Rethinking the Skyscraper as an Urban Farm: Dragonfly Concept Design

Wed

May

Dragonfly: A Metabolic Farm for Urban Architecture is a concept design that was recently unveiled by Vincent Callebaut Architects for the southern tip of Roosevelt Island in the East River. The Dragonfly is certainly a drastic departure from much of the local architecture we've noted here at gbNYC that calls itself green, but the concept's goals should resonate in a city where a major 21st century challenge will be accommodating nearly a million additional residents by 2030. Calling it a "nourishing, vertically cultivated Central Park," Callebaut's purpose in conceiving the Dragonfly was to "challenge the City of New York to rethink its food production," as well as rethink its concept of the vertical skyscraper that dominates our skyline.

Fox Point: OCV Architects Bringing More Green Affordable Housing to Bronx

Thu

Mar

by Stephen Del Percio

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Fox Point is a 48-unit affordable housing development in the Bronx that is pursuing a LEED Silver rating from USGBC. The project is being sponsored by Midtown-based non-profit Palladia and was designed by OCV Architects. The 55,000-square-foot building will offer two green roofs- on the fifth and seventh floors- and was scheduled to open up during the fourth quarter of 2008, though it’s unclear exactly where construction progress currently stands. OCV’s design strives to maximize both energy efficiency and natural daylighting; a microturbine installation should assist with the former.

Steinway & Sons Begins Installation of Solar Power System in Long Island City

Thu

Feb

by Stephen Del Percio

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NYSERDA recently provided a $588,000 grant to Steinway & Sons, the famous Long Island City-based piano manufacturer, for the installation of an $870,000 solar-powered HVAC and dehumidifying system. The Steinway plant's 27,000-square-foot roof is flat and ideal for the seven rows of parabolic mirrors that constitute the system. Each mirror weighs nearly 300 pounds and can withstand wind speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. The mirrors capture sunlight, redirect it into a pipe, and turn a water - glycol mix into steam, which is used to heat the plant during winter. During the summer, a chiller removes the hot water from the mixture and the residual air is used to cool and dehumidify the building. Humidity is a major issue for Steinway; its pianos are hand-crafted from wood, which expands under conditions of high humidity.

NYSERDA Tests High-Rise Wind Power Installation at Corning Tower in Albany

Wed

Feb

by Stephen Del Percio

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A 1.5-kilowatt wind turbine now sits atop the 41-story Corning Tower in Albany under a joint agency pilot project that will test the production of wind power here in New York State. The Office of General Services and NYSERDA are spearheading the project, which will monitor data in real time from a Swift Wind Turbine which was installed on January 22. Although 1.5 kilowatts is less than one tenth of the electricity used daily by workers in the building, the purpose of the installation is simply to review such systems both for economic feasibility, as well as overall energy efficiency, in urban environments. The Corning Tower was selected both because it is home to OGS, but also because it is the tallest building (588 feet) between New York City and the Adirondacks.

New York City's First Net Metered Commercial Solar Array is America's Biggest

Thu

Jan

by Stephen Del Percio

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Last August, Governor Paterson signed a series of bills to allow commercial net metering installations across New York State. Previously, only residential users were allowed to generate their own electricity from renewable sources and sell it back into the grid. The first such commercial installation in New York City was recently commissioned at 925 Bergen Street in Brooklyn by solar power installer Solar Energy Systems (SES) for Big Sue LLC, a general contracting and consulting firm that specializes in green design-build projects, which owns and operates the property. The installation is a 40 kilowatt solar array and, according to SES, is the largest commercial net-metered photovoltaic system in the entire country. According to Big Sue co-owner Susan Boyle, the company investigated a number of alternative power sources for 925 Bergen before opting for the solar array because of "the simplicity afforded by net metering."

Minerva Place: Green Affordable Condos in White Plains

Mon

Sep

by Stephen Del Percio

1 comment

We noted recently that Community Housing Innovations ("CHI") has broken ground on the $4.5 million, affordable, green Minerva Place Condominiums in White Plains, but wanted to formally present you with a few more details about the project. Minerva Place is one of the first low-rise new developments in Westchester County to satisfy the New York Energy $mart Multifamily Performance Program guidelines. The project includes a 350-foot-deep geothermal heating and cooling system, as well as efficient insulation and construction techniques that CHI anticipates will save residents up to 30 percent on energy costs. Minerva's energy-efficient features are being subsidized by a $55,000 grant from NYSERDA. The project was designed by Warshauer Mellusi Warshauer Architects and includes 11 two-bedroom (priced at $265,000) and 3 one-bedroom units ($225,000), each with hardwood floors and granite kitchen countertops.

Ardour Capital: Revenues Swell at Green Investment Bank

Mon

Sep

by Stephen Del Percio

1 comment

Profiled in last week's small business report in Crain's, Ardour Capital is a five-year-old investment bank that focuses exclusively on renewable energy and sustainable technology. Notwithstanding the persisting gloom on Wall Street (more on that in the context of green later this week), the firm expects revenues this year to top $10 million and double by 2009, up from $3.9 million in 2006. According to managing partner and co-founder Brian Greenstein, "[t]here's a recognition that this sector is going to be one of the ones that grow." Ardour's 25 staffers review companies across the green power sector and then distill the technologies down for potential investors. Since opening its doors, Ardour has helped raised over $1 billion for 30 companies; earlier this year, it worked with California-based eco-friendly printer Colorep, Inc. in securing a $24 million private investment.

Price Chopper Aiming to Open New York’s First LEED-Certified Supermarket

Thu

Sep

by Stephen Del Percio

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Schenectady-based Price Chopper Supermarkets has broken ground in Colonie on what’s set to become New York’s first LEED-certified supermarket, just north of Albany. The 69,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open up sometime in early 2009, and Price Chopper hopes to use the project as a template for future green supermarkets across the Northeast. A fuel cell from UTC Power will supply 60 percent of the supermarket’s electricity requirements, as well as 400 kilowatts of standby power in the event of a grid outage. The supermarket will recover heat from its refrigeration equipment and use it as space heating. Other green design features are LEED-standard, including locally-sourced construction materials and energy-efficient lighting. The company worked with NYSERDA during the design phase in order to qualify for various tax incentives from the agency under its green building programs.

Marquiss Wind Power to NYC: Test Drive a Free Wind Turbine

Tue

Aug

by Stephen Del Percio

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Apparently unfazed by recent skepticism from local engineers and architects aimed at Mayor Bloomberg's plans to install wind turbines on Gotham's skyscrapers and bridges, California-based Marquiss Wind Power has offered to donate one of its turbine systems to the city in order to demonstrate that the Mayor's idea is in fact viable. The company's patented roof-top wind turbine is approximately 19 feet high and weighs less than a typical rooftop air conditioning unit. Its T500 model is optimized for low, variable wind, is rated at 5 kilowatts, and is priced between $30,000.00 and $60,000.00 depending on the specific configuration. According to Marquiss CEO Paul Misso, the company's turbines should pay for themselves within four to eight years, "depending on wind speed, utility rates, and available incentives." Last week, in the aftermath of Mr.

Green Home to be Cornerstone of Long Island Alternative Energy Park

Mon

Aug

by Stephen Del Percio

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In 2005, the 800-square-foot OPEN House was conceived and constructed by 75 students at Old Westbury, Long Island's New York Institute of Technology. Made from wood, the house debuted at the 2005 Solar Decathlon and took home fifth place as a fully operational showcase for solar and hydrogen fuel cell technology. In 2007, it was re-entered in the Decathlon with a few upgrades, including an array of 35 solar panels and a rooftop pool for heating and cooling, which was designed to simulate the heating and cooling principles of a geothermal system. The prototype included a performance dashboard displaying the home's energy consumption in real-time. Although the prototype cost $400,000.00 to construct, at the time students believed that a similar home could be mass-produced for around half of that amount.