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November 19, 2024Empowering Communities: Energy Equity with Neighborhood Level Energy Systems By Apurva Jhamb from Pratt Institute’s MS Sustainable Environmental Systems Program
![PRATT SHOWS POSTER Apurva Jhamb Capstone]()
As climate change intensifies extreme weather events and strains New York City’s aging energy infrastructure, the need for resilient, equitable clean energy solutions becomes increasingly urgent. This study examines how strategically implemented community solar projects could enhance both grid resilience and energy equity in historically marginalized neighborhoods.
Not everyone in NYC can install solar on their roofs given the various limitations, such as lack of ownership, unsuitable roofs, limited capital, and so forth. Community solar presents a promising solution by allowing multiple residents to share the benefits of a single solar installation at an off-site location in the neighborhood, overcoming traditional barriers to clean energy access. When paired with battery storage, these systems can provide critical backup power during grid failures.
The research identifies priority neighborhoods for community solar development by analyzing multiple equity indicators including, renter-occupied units, power outage complaints, energy cost burden, and environmental health indicators along with roof-top solar potential. The findings reveal that neighborhoods in the Bronx, northern Manhattan, southeastern Queens, and central Brooklyn face compounded energy vulnerabilities. These areas experience more frequent power outages, higher energy cost burdens, and disproportionate health impacts from fossil fuel infrastructure. The study emphasizes utilizing low-impact and underutilized sites in these priority neighborhoods such as large rooftops, parking lots, and remediated brownfields to minimize environmental disruption while maximizing community benefits.
A detailed case study of Bronx Community District 02 (Hunts Point/Longwood) illustrates the potential. This environmental justice neighborhood, which hosts multiple polluting facilities and experiences higher asthma rates, has numerous suitable sites for community solar development including municipal buildings, parking facilities, and industrial rooftops. The study draws inspiration from pioneering projects like Sunset Park Solar in Brooklyn to explore ownership models that keep wealth and decision-making power within communities.
The research recommends implementing Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) to engage communities in identifying and prioritizing potential sites. The study advocates for innovative ownership models that keep wealth and decision-making power within communities. Additionally, grid upgrades are deemed essential to accommodate the increased DER capacity.
The research findings inform recommendations for NYC’s upcoming initiative, Public Solar, emphasizing strategic planning for community solar implementation in prioritized neighborhoods and advocating for collaborative governance to ensure better site control, easy community involvement and ownership pathways. By coupling community solar projects with inclusive planning and robust grid support, NYC can significantly contribute to a more equitable and sustainable energy system, empowering marginalized communities in the fight against climate change.
Note: This project was completed by Apurva Jhamb as part of the Demonstration of Professional Competence (Capstone) course, which culminates the MS Sustainable Environmental Systems curriculum at Pratt Institute, in collaboration with NYC’s Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) as the client. For more information, see the Full Report here.
Design for Risk and Reconstruction
The Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee (DfRR) harnesses the design community's expertise to address disaster mitigation and adaptation in situations caused by major events that threaten people in the built environment, such as major storms, extreme heat, climate change, sea-level rise, terrorist attacks, etc. Our mission is to foster awareness within the profession and the public of the necessity of anticipating risk at multiple scales, from a single building to comprehensive regional planning. Our goals: To formulate programs that engage the profession, stakeholders (public), and policymakers in important conversations around these issues; To develop appropriate professional-public partnerships to bring leaders and innovators together; To examine the design sequence to address mitigating natural and human-made disasters, developing disaster preparedness scenarios, mobilizing disaster relief response and recovery, and planning and executing reconstruction projects; To improve the designed environment to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its inhabitants—functionally, technically, economically, and aesthetically. Illya Azaroff, FAIA, and Lance Jay Brown, FAIA founded DfRR in recognition of the growing need to address the increasing vulnerabilities that communities face across the world. The Board of the AIA New York Chapter formally established DfRR on May 17, 2011, and sanctioned the committee name on June 21, 2011. Meetings typically occur at 6:30 pm on the second Wednesday of each month.
