Look to the rooftop for the real show at this Manhattan convention center

New York’s Javits Center attracts some big-name shows, among them NYC Comic Con. However, an even more impressive — but lesser known — act is happening on its rooftop.

There you’ll find what the convention center describes as the largest rooftop solar array in Manhattan, which is part of a 13-MW microgrid.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul drew attention to the convention center’s rooftop last week when she chose it as the site to announce the state’s distributed solar achievements. New York now has 4 GW of distributed solar, which, along with other projects under development, means that the state could beat its goal to have 6 GW of distributed solar by 2025 and 10 GW by 2030. 

The announcement came during a week when other microgrids were also vying for the stature of biggest in various other categories. See the related stories (both from Australia) that we published today: Australia nickel mine plans to host world’s largest renewable microgrid and Australia’s largest rooftop solar microgrid coming to logistics facility.

The Javits Center microgrid is part of the new 1.2-million square foot building expansion at the Hudson Yards convention center.  The center features 1,400 solar panels, which will be supplemented next year with a 3.5-MW battery energy storage system, three diesel generators, and microgrid and building control equipment. The microgrid will allow the center to function off-grid for up to six consecutive days, according to the Javits Center 2021 Sustainability Report.

As part of the energy project, developed by Siemens, the convention center connected a new power management system and an existing building management system so that electrical equipment can be monitored and controlled. The building can engage in automatic load shedding, as well as monitoring and forecasting via a connection with the New York Energy Manager system. 

Once the solar project is complete it will be owned and operated under an as-a-service agreement by Calibrant Energy — a joint venture between Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Siemens’ Smart Infrastructure and Financial Services groups. NYPA will then sell the solar power to the Javits Center at a predetermined rate.

The rooftop also features what the convention center says is one of the largest green rooftops, which includes a one-acre farm designed to grow up to 40,000 pounds of produce annually, and a wildlife habitat.