Cornell Taps Distributed Sun for NYC Campus Proposal

by | Oct 25, 2011

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Distributed Sun LLC has teamed-up with Cornell University for a proposal that, if accepted by the City of New York, would see the partners build, finance, and operate on-site renewable power for a post-graduate college on Roosevelt Island.

The proposed power plant could generate up to 9 GWh of electricity per year through the use of solar, geothermal and fuel cell power sources, according to Distributed Sun. The solar company, which is also an investment company, will underwrite at least some of the constriction costs.

If constructed, it would be the largest net-zero building in the Eastern United States, the company says.

The campus will house an institution of applied sciences and technology. Multiple universities are bidding for the right to create the college. According to the New York Times, either Cornell or Stanford is the most likely candidate to be picked.

Stanford’s design for the campus focuses more on minimizing energy use and creating a marsh to filter water, according to the newspaper. The application deadline is Oct. 28.

Earlier this month it emerged that Stanford was among the 32 universities that had committed $65 million to a new energy efficiency financing initiative focused on “green revolving funds.”

Billion Dollar Green Challenge aims to get colleges, universities and other nonprofits to invest a total of $1 billion in self-managed funds that are then used to finance energy efficiency upgrades that offer a quantifiable monetary saving or return.

A portion of the returns from these upgrades are then reinvested in the fund and used for future green projects.

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