Tag: REV Challenge

NYU Sustainability 2016 #YearinReview

Here are some of NYU Sustainability’s major accomplishments in 2016!

unplugged2016Residence Halls Conserve Energy for NYUnplugged
In February, 17 Residence Halls competed in the NYUnplugged energy reduction challenge. Lipton Hall not only saved the most energy but also brought the most awareness to energy conservation through events and social media, securing their spot in first place!

Student, Faculty & Staff Collaborate
In March members of the Sustainability Task Force (STF) submitted a proposal to Governor Cuomo’s REV Campus Challenge, which called for New York State colleges and universities to develop clean energy plans for a chance to win $1 million for support in implementation. NYU was nationally recognized as a competition “Leader” and a “First Mover” for joining the competition in its first 6 months. The effort brought together a diverse group of individuals, who developed a proposal for an anaerobic digester at NYU. Additionally, throughout the Fall, an STF working group collaborated on a Sustainability Indicator Survey to question the NYU community on their attitudes towards sustainability. The survey is in queue for release.   Read more

A Microgrid Grows in Brooklyn: Innovating Energy Solutions through REV’s NYPrize Competition

by Paige Medley

The New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) is currently running NY Prize, a $40 million competition to incentivize communities throughout New York State to develop microgrids. Working with Smarter Grid Solutions, I had the opportunity to be a co-author of the Stage 1 Feasibility Study of the Red Hook Community Microgrid (RH-CMG). The Feasibility Study examined the costs and practicality of installing a community microgrid in Red Hook that would use PV Solar, Anaerobic Digestion, Battery Backup and Gas Generators to deliver emergency power backup in times of grid outage, and deliver clean reliable and locally-produced electricity to the grid in times of non-outage.

diagram of microgrid
This diagram shows how a microgrid works

What is a Microgrid? First imagine a traditional electric grid as a long line of dominoes. Each domino represents the lines and wires that provide homes and businesses with electricity. The flick of one domino results in the total collapse of the entire line. However, if there are smaller separate clusters of dominos, (think of these as microgrids), which could either connect or disconnect from the long line of dominoes, one would, using the same metaphor, prevent fewer homes or businesses from losing electricity when there is grid failure at one point on the domino line. Microgrids enable more renewable energy or distributed generation (DG) resources to connect to the overall grid.

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Celebrating International Compost Awareness Week: The Facts

poster-contest-winner-YessiHappy ICAW to all! This week (May 1-7) is International Compost Awareness Week. The week-long educational event is hosted by the US Composting Council, who since 1999 have promoted biodegradable waste approaches through ICAW events and initiatives. This year’s theme is Compost: The Soil and Water Connection. The theme brings composting back to its roots (pardon the pun) by reminding us that despite amazing new technologies, composting is inevitably about taking some of the most fundamental, natural processes out there and putting them to use in our waste systems once again.

Well wait, let’s take a step back – why even compost to begin with? Read more

NYU Sustainability 2015 #YearInReview

Check out our major environmental accomplishments in 2015!

plugNYUnplugged Conserves Energy

During the month of February, 8 NYU Residence Halls participated in NYUnplugged, saving 50,175 kWh of energy. Green House was named the competition winner! Stay tuned for forthcoming details about this year’s NYUnplugged challenge.

Bike Share Expands

In March, the Bike Share program opened its Brooklyn docking location, extending the program outside of the borough of Manhattan. Resolve to bike more in 2016, and find your nearest Bike Share location here! Read more

Reforming the Energy Vision at NYU

IMG_3654Last week, a diverse coalition of students and faculty representing different disciplines but sharing a passion for clean and resilient energy at NYU, came together to start discussing NYU’s proposal for Governor Cuomo’s REV Campus Challenge. In October, Governor Cuomo visited NYU for a Climate Day of Action event hosted by EarthMatters and the national Know Tomorrow Campaign. Check out a post written by our very own Tessa Rosenberry who joined Governor Cuomo and a panel of student environmental leaders for that event. During his remarks, Governor Cuomo announced the REV Challenge, calling for student-driven proposals for clean energy projects at New York State universities and colleges. Read more