Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Global Green announced a Commitment to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative to equip five community facilities in neighbor hoods affected by Sandy with solar energy + battery back-up systems. These systems built models of resiliency and renewable energy in vulnerable communities. Global Green completed the first ever solar + battery back-up system in a New York City community center in 2014 at the Red Hook Recreation Center.
In 2016, with the support of National Grid, Global Green continued energy efficiency upgrades at the Church of God Christian Academy in Far Rockaway. The Academy will benefit from reduced energy bills as a result of weatherization retrofit, LED lighting upgrades, programmable thermostats and spray foam insulation. Students in shop class learned how to retrofit their fluorescent lighting to the new LED fixtures by participating in the lighting fixture installation and in-class training.
The 15kW solar installation will also reduce the school’s utility burden while the battery storage system will provide emergency power for services in the gym including lighting, plugs for cell phone charging, and refrigeration for medications during a power outage.
In 2017, with the support National Grid, Global Green completed energy efficiency upgrades and a 15kW solar system at the Long Beach Martin Luther King Center, to equip the City of Long Beach with the infrastructure to prepare for future storms. The 15kW solar system installed by local solar company EmPower will produce about 20% of the expected energy use of the building before the energy efficiency improvements, about $2,900 savings annually.
To promote awareness and education at each Solar for Sandy site, Global Green promoted community preparedness evens to inform residents of the hub’s availability and educate residents in the area on the opportunities in clean energy and resiliency. Hands-on workshops have been hosted at the Church of God Academy and MLK Center to compliment STEM curriculum and engage students on the topic of clean energy.
