New solar installation at Brooklyn Army Terminal to bring power to Sunset Park residents, businesses

December 9, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

A rendering showing what the new Sunset Park Solar panels will look like on the roof of Building B of the Brooklyn Army Terminal. Rendering courtesy of UPROSE

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The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), UPROSE and Working Power have announced the development of Sunset Park Solar at the Brooklyn Army Terminal — a project to bring clean, reliable and affordable solar energy to residents and businesses in the nearby Sunset Park community.

The 725-kilowatt solar array is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, alleviate energy burdens and protect low-income households from energy price fluctuations. Over its lifetime, the project is slated to deliver $1.24 million in energy-bill savings to approximately 150 households.

The solar array will be co-owned by UPROSE, a Sunset Park-based Latino nonprofit dealing with climate change and environmental justice, and Working Power, which describes itself as “a project development and financing platform that connects frontline communities with impact investors to help build wealth and power through climate solutions.”

In addition to providing bill savings, the revenue generated by the community solar array will be directed into a community wealth fund, according to EDC. Also, this project will support the neighborhood’s green economy in the construction and maintenance of the solar array.

Construction of the solar array, led by Working Power, is set to begin in early 2025. The project will create job opportunities for locals, supporting workforce development in Sunset Park’s emerging clean energy economy, EDC said.

This solar-powered sculpture by artist Tom Fruin lit up the sky in Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2014. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Julienne Schaer

Located on the roof of Building B at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, the 45,000-square-foot installation will provide access to solar power generation for subscribing households. Subscribers will see savings directly on their Con Edison bills.

“The Sunset Park Solar project is tremendous, and I congratulate EDC and UPROSE on this exciting collaboration,” said First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer. “This project will further activate the Brooklyn Army Terminal, deliver clean energy to Sunset Park and set a citywide model for advancing an equitable and sustainable green economy.”

“The Brooklyn Army Terminal continues to serve as a shining example of the future of New York City’s green economy, from being the future home for the Climate Innovation Hub to our Pilots at the BAT program [which supports innovative new tech companies] to the introduction of Sunset Park Solar,” said NYCEDC President & CEO Andrew Kimball.

“At UPROSE, we have always known that real climate justice is built on the leadership and vision of frontline communities,” said Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of UPROSE. “The launch of Sunset Park Solar represents years of grassroots organizing, visionary leadership and a commitment to a just transition led by the people who call this neighborhood home.”

Commercial-industrial developments managed by NYCEDC — including the Brooklyn Army Terminal itself, the nearby South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and the MADE Bush Terminal Campus — offer opportunities to combine economic development with community-led climate solutions. Building on decades of grassroots organizing by UPROSE and residents, they have the potential to drive innovation, reduce the amount of carbon emissions and more.

The installation of Sunset Park Solar marks a significant step toward expanding clean energy access for residents while advancing broader sustainability goals aligned with Mayor Adams’ Green Economy Action Plan. For example, the Brooklyn Army Terminal is set to host the future Climate Innovation Hub, a 112,000-square-foot facility designed to support business development, incubation and research commercialization.

The curved roof of the subway system’s Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island terminal is made up of solar panels, which have not been in operation for several years. Photo: Adam Friedberg

“At a time when working Brooklynites are struggling to make ends meet, Sunset Park Solar is a crucial project for ensuring that our neighbors in Sunset Park see their energy costs offset,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “Solar energy has the potential to bring down energy bills and improve environmental conditions, and I am so glad that Sunset Park is leading the way”

The Brooklyn Army Terminal is home to 125 industrial businesses that collectively employ 4,000 New Yorkers. In the last 10 years, NYCEDC has invested $270 million at BAT to bring new leasable space online and improve open space, common areas and campus infrastructure. NYCEDC is investing nearly $200 million to upgrade the BAT campus to modernize its buildings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with Local Law 97, and provide more amenities for workers and visitors.

The Sunset Park Solar project, of course, is far from the only solar power installation in Brooklyn.

For example, last year, Pvilion, a solar-powered fabric designer and manufacturer, opened in Industry City and Sunset Park. In 2021, the nonprofit group Solar One told the Eagle it was installing solar panels on the roofs of four Brooklyn Public Library branches.

In 2018, the Fifth Avenue Committee and Gowanus Grid & Electric helped to outfit 21 apartment buildings in Sunset Park, Gowanus and Prospect Heights with solar panels, the Eagle’s Paula Katinas wrote at the time.

Probably the best-known solar installation in Brooklyn, however, is the one that was installed on the roof of the renovated Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway terminal in 2004. An MTA spokesperson said that the solar panels here have been offline for quite a few years.