In addition to providing cost-effective stormwater controls, DEP selected the winning projects for their ability to provide other benefits such as increased shade, decreased energy use for cooling buildings and increased awareness in both stormwater management and community stewardship. The winners will be providing $953,500 in matching contributions, and the projects will be monitored for their effectiveness in managing stormwater.

“The city has been combating the negative impacts of stormwater runoff for years, and we have developed a cost-effective strategy to find solutions across the five boroughs,” Deputy Mayor for Operations Stephen Goldsmith said in a statement.

Winning projects include the building of two rooftop gardens at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House in Manhattan that will manage up to 63,000 gallons of stormwater per year and capture rainwater and reduce CSOs to the East River; the $420,125 retrofitting of two porous concrete parking lots at Manhattan College in Riverdale in the Bronx that will manage more than 1 million gallons of stormwater per year and reduce CSOs to the Harlem River; the $244,920 installation of a right-of-way bioswale by the New York Restoration Project at the Carroll Street Community Garden in Park Slope in Brooklyn that will manage about 130,000 gallons of stormwater per year and reduce CSOs to the Gowanus Canal; and a $288,000 alternating blue roof and green roof system on the Osborne Association's building in Longwood in the Bronx that will manage more than 240,000 gallons of stormwater per year. Green roofs absorb rainwater through their soil and plants, while blue roofs detain it in trays that create the temporary storage of stormwater and its gradual release. The final winning project is a $375,000 retrofit of three different areas on the campus of Queens College in Flushing to reduce CSOs to Flushing Creek through the use of porous concrete and rain gardens. The project will manage more than 707,000 gallons of stormwater per year.

“Green infrastructure is an innovative approach to reducing polluted stormwater runoff while enhancing urban communities,” State Dept. of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens said in a statement. “We applaud New York City's commitment to protect water quality through direct support for community-driven environmental protection efforts.”

Connecticut

M&A Heats Up With Real Goods Solar, Alteris Deal

solar panels ARE heating up the merger market after residential and commercial solar energy firm Real Goods Solar Inc. signed a deal to merge with Wilton, Conn.-based Alteris Renewables Inc., a solar energy and wind power installer. The deal, subject to Real Goods Solar's shareholder approval, is expected to close this quarter.

Boulder, Colo.-based Real Goods Solar serves the Colorado and California markets and the deal gives it a foothold in the growing Northeast market. Alteris has been on the acquisition trail in recent years, acquiring renewable energy firm ISI Solar, New City, N.Y., last year.

Terms of the deal call for Real Goods Solar to issue 8 million unregistered shares of its Class A common stock to Alteris' equity holders.

The solar market is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy, helped largely by lower prices for solar panels and government incentive programs, according to a study by the Solar Energy Industry Association and GTM Research. Sixteen states, including New Jersey, installed more than 10 MW of photovoltaics last year, the study shows. New Jersey is now ranked second, behind California, in installed capacity.