BY Aline Reynolds | City Hall will soon be changing the way it receives electricity.
The city has done away with plans to place solar panels on the building’s rooftop, instead proposing to install a large fuel cell in an enclosed area on the northeast corner of City Hall. An underground gas line will supply the natural gas fuel necessary for the unit to produce 100 kilowatts of electricity for the building.
“The technology works by passing hydrogen atoms, taken from the natural gas, over the solid oxide fuel cells. This produces a chemical reaction that generates electricity,” explained city spokesperson Andrew Brent.
The new method “is a means of providing more affordable energy to the building,” Lawrence Gutterman, associate partner at Beyer Blinder Belle architects and planners, told the Community Board 1 Landmarks Committee at its June 9 meeting. The chemical reaction, he noted, does not release harmful emissions to the environment. The unit is poised to save the city in construction costs and approximately $45,000 in annual energy expenses.
The energy system switch is part of a $119 million overhaul of the 200-year-old landmarked building the city is aiming to complete by March of next year.
The fuel cell unit, which will be 45 feet long, nine feet wide and eight feet high, will be placed atop a concrete pad in a cordoned-off area next to City Hall. It will emit approximately 70 decibels from six feet way, the equivalent of a group conversation, according to Gutterman.
“We felt it would have the least impact on the park environment in an area that’s not normally open to the public,” the architect said of the unit’s placement. Burying the unit underground, Gutterman explained, would have been cost-prohibitive. It will only be visible from the center of the City Hall Park bike path and from portions of Park Row, he assured.
The city initially thought of placing solar panels atop the building’s roof, but the plan proved to be less energy-efficient. Officials also considered implementing a geothermal energy system, but ultimately decided against it, since the setup would have required ample space for wells, pipes and other infrastructure. The related construction, Brent noted, would have caused major disruptions in City Hall Park.
The Landmarks Committee voted 7-1 in favor of the proposal, which will come before the city Landmarks Preservation Commission at its Tues., June 21 hearing.
“It’s regrettable that it’s such a large size… but nonetheless I think it’s a better solution than a whole bunch of solar panels we didn’t like,” said Committee Chair Roger Byrom, who approved the plan. The committee had reluctantly signed off on the solar panel plan two years ago.
Committee member Harold Reed also applauded the presentation. “I trust the architects. They’re very well-established, have a great reputation, and I’d think they’re doing the right thing,” he said. “I don’t think [the fuel cells unit] would be an eyesore like the solar panels.”
Not everyone in the room, however, felt comfortable with the proposal. “I think it’s a disaster waiting to happen,” said Tribeca resident Noel Jefferson, envisioning the damage that could ensue from an airborne object colliding with the unit.
Jefferson, the only committee member that voted against the plan, said she would avoid City Hall park as much as possible once the fuel cell is installed. “I don’t like the idea of having a gas tank above ground,” she said, fearful, regardless of Gutterman’s assurance, of toxic emissions that could pose health risks to passers-by and the environment.
“Although they might have been unattractive, as far as preserving a green environment,” Jefferson continued, “the solar panels would have definitely been my preference.”
