New York City Public Schools (NYCPS), the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) recently celebrated a milestone in the City’s Solar Schools Program, having completed 130 solar rooftop arrays on public schools since the passage of Local Law 99 a year and a half ago. The 130th installation at Marie Curie High School in the Bronx, which will generate more than 50 percent of the school’s annual energy needs, also marked the addition of 27.5 megawatts (MW) to the City’s solar energy generation capacity on public school property, with the ultimate goal of 100 MW by 2030 and 150 MW by 2035.
“For the last several years, DCAS has been a great partner to Local Union No. 3, IBEW and our signatory contractors, as they’ve continued to expand key solar energy infrastructure on schools throughout the city,” Business Manager Christopher Erikson Jr. said. “Our highly trained union electricians bring the expertise needed to build complex projects like the installation at Marie Curie High School, helping the city tackle the dual climate and energy crises we face. DCAS’s commitment to using union labor ensures the work associated leads not to short-term, dead-end solar installer jobs but family-sustaining, middle-class union careers for New Yorkers.”
