Largest Rooftop Solar Project In Nation To Begin Soon At Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village

NOVEMBER 9, 2017 | BY JOHN JORDAN 

The 3.8-megawatt solar energy system will span across the property’s 22 acres of rooftops. Once completed, the rooftop solar project at Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village will triple Manhattan’s current solar generation capacity.

NEW YORK CITY—Work will begin this winter on what has been described as the largest private multifamily rooftop solar project in the United States at the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village here.

Owner Blackstone and Ivanhoe Cambridge announced the launch of the project that will be run by StuyTown Property Services, the property management company of the more than 11,200-unit Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village complex. A representative of the ownership tells Globest.com that the rooftop solar project’s cost will be approximately $10 million.

The 3.8-megawatt solar energy system will span across the property’s 22 acres of rooftops. Once completed, the rooftop solar project at Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village will triple Manhattan’s current solar generation capacity. New York City-based renewable energy developer Onyx Renewable Partners is the project developer for the installation. The project is expected to be completed in 2019. Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village is the largest private rental apartment complex in the U.S., with more than 11,200 multifamily units and houses more than 27,000 residents in 56 buildings across 80 acres in Manhattan’s East Village.

“We are incredibly proud of the long-term partnership we are building with the StuyTown community,” says Nadeem Meghji, head of real estate Americas at Blackstone. “In 2015 we made a commitment to preserve StuyTown’s unique heritage and be responsible stewards of its future. This innovative solar project is one of many initiatives we designed and implemented to make the community more sustainable and environmentally friendly.”

The installation will consist of 9,671 high-efficiency solar panels and will generate enough energy to power more than 1,000 New York City apartments annually. The project is expected to offset approximately 63,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is comparable to removing 12,000 cars from the road for a year, Stuyvesant Town officials state.

“Working to make communities more sustainable underpins many of our business decisions. We are especially proud of this initiative and congratulate our partners Blackstone and the team at SPS. Stuyvesant Town Peter Cooper Village is a very special place and continues to be a leader in New York City,” says Daniel Fournier, chairman, and CEO, Ivanhoé Cambridge.

Previous energy-saving initiatives have earned Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village an ENERGY STAR certification three years in a row for its energy management technologies. Other sustainable initiatives at the property have included the installation of LED lighting, high-efficiency hot water heat exchangers, elevator shaft louvers to minimize heat loss and domestic water flow control valves, as well as incorporating the use of a centralized building management system to control steam heating distribution and manage all of its sustainable initiatives.

The development’s compost waste pickup is averaging a little over 10,000 pounds of organic material collected weekly, which represents 17% of all residential compost waste collected in Manhattan. Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village has also reduced on-site greenhouse gas emissions by 10% since 2007, which will be increased once the solar rooftop project is complete.

John Jordan

John Jordan is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years experience in newspaper and web publishing. He is a contributing writer for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. johnjord@aol.com