(Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash )

New York City Council has approved the “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality” proposal, a set of citywide zoning changes aiming to remove barriers to rooftop solar, building electrification, and electric vehicle (EV) charging.

This initiative is the first of three “City of Yes” proposals slated to update New York’s zoning. Its passage comes as the next two- “City of Yes for Economic Opportunity” and “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,” focused on economic opportunity and housing, respectively, undergo public and environmental review.

“City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality” will go into effect by December 16. The initiative updates regulations that NYC officials say created roadblocks for New Yorkers who hoped to retrofit their homes for energy efficiency or resiliency, install heat pumps or solar panels, or switch to EVs.

Rooftop solar zoning: Removing zoning obstacles that limit how much rooftop space can be covered by solar panels. This policy aims to make it easier to install energy storage infrastructure needed for solar energy and facilitate standalone, grid-supporting solar and community microgrids — particularly in low-income communities — that were banned in residential areas. These changes will open more than 8,500 acres of parking lots across the city for the potential use of solar panels. If fully built out, these solar panels could power more than 130,000 homes, NYC officials said.

Building electrification: Lightening restrictions on the height and thickness of walls that restrict building electrification and retrofits for efficiency. This policy aims to add flexibility, making these modifications possible while maintaining the look and feel of the city’s neighborhoods. These changes will facilitate environmentally friendly retrofits for more than 50,000 buildings, including 1 million+ homes where retrofits are currently restricted by city zoning.

EV charging: The initiative will more than double commercially zoned land where EV charging facilities can be located. This policy also clarifies regulations and intends to facilitate safe bicycle and e-mobility parking. These changes mean EV charging is now possible in more than 400 million additional square feet of space throughout the city, officials said.

In the lead-up to the council’s approval, “City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality” received positive recommendations from 25 community boards, as well as from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queen’s borough presidents, and the Bronx and Manhattan Borough Boards, officials said. It also received an 11-1 vote in support at the City Planning Commission.

Earlier this year, Con Edison announced its customers had connected 55,000 solar systems totaling more than 500 MW of generating capacity to the electric grid.

Queens is New York City’s largest solar market, with more than 18,501 customer-owned systems totaling 131 MW of capacity, followed by Staten Island (11,475 systems), Brooklyn (10,051), the Bronx (4,723), and Manhattan (388). Westchester County is also a vibrant market, with 10,380 systems in place totaling 138 MW of generating capacity.

The first solar system was interconnected to Con Edison’s distribution grid in 2001. It took another 15 years to reach the 100 MW capacity threshold.

By 2022, the local market reached a record 89 MW of annual installations, and Con Edison expects a similar or greater level of installations to continue for the next decade or more.