Yorktown Planning Board OKs Solar Canopy At IBM

YORKTOWN, NY — A solar canopy for IBM's Watson facility was approved Feb. 8 by the Yorktown Planning Board.

According to the town, the solar canopy would eliminate 6.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

IBM will build the canopy over a large parking lot at 1101 Kitchawan Road in Yorktown Heights, the planning board said.

The construction project will take 12 months.

Supervisor Matt Slater said that last year the town adopted smart-growth solar rules that allow local businesses and property owners with large tracts of land to invest in technologies that benefit everyone with a cleaner and greener environment.

"This solar canopy is the latest example," he said.

The canopy, when completed, will produce more than 6,300 mega-watt hours of power in its first year. The estimated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be equivalent to removing 648 cars for local roads for a year, officials said.

The solar canopy will be built by EnterSolar of New York City. Its solar projects in Westchester County include a rooftop system at PepsiCo in Purchase, a parking canopy at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown and a rooftop system at Zwilling J. A. Henckels in Pleasantville.

A representative of EnterSolar said the solar canopy will help bolster the resilience of a nearby Con Edison substation that has capacity limitations.

The canopy will reduce the amount of impermeable surfaces on the property. The company will plant 120 native trees to replace the 31 trees that will be removed.