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3,000 NY City Buildings to Get Energy Retrofits

September 23, 2014 by Linda Hardesty

New York City is committing to an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, with 2005 as a baseline. Central to that commitment, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a sweeping plan to retrofit public and private buildings – One City, Built to Last: Transforming New York City’s Buildings for a Low-Carbon Future.

Every single city-owned building with any significant energy use – about 3,000 buildings – will be retrofitted within the next ten years, by 2025, with interim goals along the way.

One City: Built to Last, Transforming New York City’s Buildings for a Low Carbon Future will:

Invest in high-value efficiency upgrades in about 150 to 200 city buildings per year for the next ten years, including schools, firehouses, hospitals, police precincts, libraries, and homeless shelters. This will be through a competitive citywide process that identifies the most effective reduction measures across the public building portfolio.

Perform energy upgrades in 450 schools over the next five years, including 325 comprehensive lighting upgrades and 125 boiler replacements to improve energy efficiency and improve indoor air quality (PCB remediation).

Increase solar and renewable energy deployment on City assets, beginning with 24 schools. Install solar on more than 300 city buildings, generating 100 MW of energy over the next decade.

Pilot energy technology from local clean tech start-ups in City buildings.

Hire additional operations and maintenance staff and expand training programs for the City’s building operators to upgrade skills and ensure equipment is operated efficiently.

Partner with HUD on the Energy Performance Contract (EPC) program to unlock the potential for undertaking large-scale energy efficiency measures.

Require buildings over 25,000 square feet to measure and disclose energy use annually, conduct energy assessments, and upgrade lighting. The current mandate includes only buildings over 50,000 square feet.

Catalyze the retrofitting of about 20,000 private buildings through a “retrofit accelerator” program, making up an estimated 15 percent of citywide built square footage. Two-thirds will be multifamily buildings, and roughly 40 percent will be government-assisted affordable or rent-stabilized buildings.

Spur the development of more than 250MW of private solar generation across the City in the next decade – an eightfold increase over current levels.

Photo: NY City Skyline via Shutterstock