Here comes the Sun: Will NYC become the Solar City?

Sunday’s NYT article detailed some of the many reasons that not only single family homes in the suburbs are installing solar systems. Thanks to falling costs and grants from NYS, many buildings can recoup their expenses in about 5 years from installing solar panels. Additionally, thanks to some new innovative techniques, more solar panels can be installed on even flat brownstone roofs. However, one of the limited factors is the NYC fire code which restricts how much surface area of a roof can be covered by panels.