NYC’s Notorious Rikers Prison Complex May Soon Turn Into A Green Energy Hub

Last year, the New York City Council voted to permanently close Rikers Island after decades of using the site as an infamous prison complex, with the ownership of the land going over to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services by 2027. 

As such, city officials have busied themselves thinking of what the space could transform into, with one idea that’s emerged as the clear winner: a citywide green energy hub. 

The initiative plans to replace all of the island’s current structures with solar energy installations and recycling infrastructure. 

The proposed solar power and energy storage facility could generate up to 275 megawatts of power and store 1,500 megawatts, taking over some of the nearby power plants. 

The recycling and composting section will help process over 365,000 tons of organic waste (more than a third of the city’s total) annually. 

In addition, it could be possible to move NYC’s wastewater treatment plant over to Rikers, which would help free up 182 acres of community land in Queens and the Bronx. 

That’s not all. Authorities are also planning to build a new research and training institute on the site, which will provide educational and workforce lessons to formerly incarcerated prisoners from the island. 

“Few things could mark the end of the Rikers Island penal colony more definitively than transferring the land for positive use,” said the Regional Plan Association (RPA). 

“The opportunity to use over 400 acres for the benefit of communities that have borne the brunt of mass criminalization, environmental burdens, and disinvestment is both rare and extraordinary.” 

[via Filter and Regional Plan Association, images via Regional Plan Association]