9 things to know about Staten Island’s new 9,000-panel solar farm

Staten Island is now home to the largest ground-mounted solar installation in New York City.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at the site on Wednesday. Representatives from  EnterSolar, the Manhattan-based solar company that constructed the facility, were in attendance, along with: Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island), who chairs the state Emergency Committee; New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) officials; Con Edison representatives.

Here’s what you need to know about the 3.1-megawatt installation.

There are 9,000 panels installed over 10 acres of unused industrial land in Charleston, which is owned by Kinder Morgan, a Texas-based energy infrastructure company.

EnterSolar is leasing the property from Kinder Morgan for the next 20 years.

The solar panels will put approximately 4 million kilowatt hours of power back into the grid annually — powering about 500 Staten Island commercial and residential properties each year.

In 2016, the average annual electricity usage in a home was more than 10,000 kilowatt hours, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

EnterSolar first contacted Kinder Morgan to lease the Charleston property about three years ago.

Once the companies received approvals such as permits and re-zoning, they began construction, which only took six months.

Fordham University and Fordham Preparatory School, both located in the Bronx, will purchase energy generated by the solar system, which will power a portion of Staten Island. As a result, the schools will see a reduction in the cost of their energy bill.