TESTIMONY
Ben Dorman, Deputy Director, Climate Jobs in New York, on the Legislation for Solar Installations on Public Buildings
1:04:58
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3 min
Ben Dorman advocates for legislation to significantly expand solar installations on New York City's public buildings to enhance sustainability, create jobs, and save on energy costs.
- Dorman represents a coalition of municipal public sector and private sector unions working to improve city buildings and address climate change impacts.
- The testimony outlines the urgency of acting now to mitigate climate change effects through strategic investments in solar energy and the potential federal and state funding opportunities.
- It emphasizes the role of public buildings in New York in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with 80% of city pollution attributed to buildings.
- Dorman highlights the economic benefits of the legislation, with potential savings of up to $20,405,000 annually and job creation in the renewable energy sector.
- The proposed initiative seeks to deliver a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient economic future for New York City.
Ben Dorman
1:04:58
Alright.
1:04:59
Thank you, everyone.
1:05:00
Thank you, members of the committee.
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Thank you, members of New York City Council.
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Name is Ben Dorman.
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I'm the deputy director of climate jobs in New York, and we direct the carbon free and healthy schools campaign here in the city.
1:05:14
Our union coalition is made up of municipal public sector unions like UFT, DC 37, CSA, as well as private sector, unions within the building and construction trades, 32 BJ, and NICE.
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Every day these members work across the city to help keep things running, and they know more than anyone that we need to invest in improving our city buildings right now.
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They have also seen firsthand the effects of climate change.
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We're soon with super storms like Hurricane Sandy.
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You're stream heat and wildfire smoke that we all saw as recently as this past summer.
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If we continue to wait to act, the cost of recovering, will only rise.
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Our coalition is committed to making sure that we leave the planet a better place for the next generation and we hope to capitalize on the opportunity for federal and state funding incentives that are available right now.
1:06:10
We also welcome the support and willingness of the mayor and his administration to work with us, to to find solutions, and we urge the council in this committee to support the legislation proposed by council member nurse today.
1:06:25
So this legislation to rapidly scale up solar installations on public buildings is a huge step to promote sustainability, create good jobs, and solidify the financial health of the city.
1:06:37
Currently buildings within New York represent 80% of our total greenhouse greenhouse gas pollution And that means that public buildings and schools represent a massive opportunity for us to transition our energy sources to renewable technology like solar power.
1:06:55
So with this legislation, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate the adverse effect of fossil fuel pollution in our communities.
1:07:04
In addition, by enacting this legislation, the city can create family sustaining jobs for workers right here in our city.
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To complete these solar installation projects, we will bring people into the renewable energy workforce of the future.
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And in this way, we can transition to a green energy economy while uplifting communities while uplifting communities most affected by the devastating impacts of climate change.
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Investing in solar in installation on public buildings will also produce major cost savings for the city.
1:07:33
By reaching 100 megawatts of publicly owned Solar alone.
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New York City can produce energy cost savings of according to our estimates around $12,000,000 per year.
1:07:45
And then on top of that, once we reach 150 megawatts, the city could save 20,000, 405,000 dollars per year.
1:07:54
And what that number would represent is over or more than $600,000,000 over a 30 year time span.
1:08:01
So put simply
Elijah Hutchinson
1:08:03
Okay, man.
Ben Dorman
1:08:03
So but very simply, passing this legislation will pay for itself more than twice, and we wanna be able to provide that cost savings.
1:08:11
So to the city to reinvest in public services across the board.
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So we hope to take this huge step to invest in our future.
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Build a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient economic future.
1:08:23
Thank you.