Rikers Island prison has hosted, despite themselves, several well-known figures including the former director general of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the deposed producer Harvey Weinstein or the murderer of the legendary artist John Lennon, Mark David Chapman.
It is on this small island well known to the American paparazzi that the Montreal-American company Renewz / iSun will set up its first installation in New York in the coming weeks.
It is a carport entirely covered with about forty solar panels.
“Our facility can power the cars or the building itself. It can also fill a battery that can recharge electric vehicles or even protect the building against a power failure by providing power. It’s very varied, ”explains Sass Peress, president of Renewz, who has been working his way in the field of renewable energies for several years.
The latter could hardly hide his excitement to finally enter the lucrative New York market after several years.
“We won the contract this year, after three years of visits and collaboration. COVID has delayed everything. In our case, we were two years behind, ”he explains.
While the company’s operations are in the United States, at the head office in Burlington, Vermont, the project was developed in Montreal with aluminum from Rio Tinto Alcan.
“It’s a project from here. We have a small team, but we are looking for employees. The business is growing, ”says Peress.
The company has many ambitions in the United States and is already in talks with other municipalities.
“With this project, other cities like Pittsburgh are interested and we are already having discussions with them. From the start, the Quebec Delegation in New York has helped us a lot, ”says Mr. Peress.
The general delegate, Martine Hébert, ensures that the interest of American cities is growing towards Quebec technology.
“They are very interested and curious about the practices that we have put forward to engage the population in electrification, our technologies, our pitfalls, our successes. There is really an interest in our expertise and our businesses, ”she adds.
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