Yang promises swifter switch to clean energy

Andrew Yang wants to convert landfills into renewable energy.
Yang announced last week that if elected mayor, his administration would bring solar projects to former landfill sites in New York City, beginning with the Edgemere Landfill located adjacent to Rockaway Community Park on April 22.
Annika Colston, president and founder of AC Power, is working with Yang on his plan. Edgemere Landfill is one of thousands of brownfield sites around New York City that can be repurposed as community solar installations.
“This landfill could accommodate a large project of 12 megawatts, which is enough to power 2,500 homes,” said Colston. “Those homes could be offered solar through the state community solar program.
“This program will offer clean renewable energy to low and moderate-income families at a discount to their current electricity,” she added. “So there are so many benefits to these types of projects, not only environmentally, but also to the community and the city.”
Yang detailed his plan to power New York City with 80 percent clean energy by 2030 by focusing on solar deployment, battery storage permitting and construction, new interconnections to upstate wind and Canadian hydropower sources, and the acceleration of offshore wind assembly and transmission.
Currently, almost 75 percent of the city’s electricity still comes from fossil fuel. Under the city’s current plan to move to renewable energy sources, in a decade more than 50 percent of electricity will still come from power plants.
“We all agree the city needs to embrace the green economy, but the city has moved too slowly for too long,” said Yang. “What we need now is action. Every day we wait is a missed opportunity for our economy, our health, and our future. My administration won’t wait to pursue these important projects and essential goals.”
Yang also wants to put social and racial justice at the center of the city’s climate work and make sure all New Yorkers have the skills to participate in the green economy, as well as educate the next generation on climate change.
“We have to create green jobs,” said Yang. “A lot of the things I just talked about are going to be job creators, such as battery power plants, solar panel installations, and retrofitting municipal buildings, and that’s a win for us all.”