Published February 2, 2021
Listen to or watch the seventh episode of Urban Green Live. Hosted by Urban Green Council CEO John Mandyck, this live interview series features international industry experts to answer your questions about a low carbon future.
On February 2, 2021, Acting President and CEO of NYSERDA Doreen Harris joined John to discuss the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the future of energy efficiency and their latest view on the pipeline of renewables for NYC. Learn how these issues factor into Local Law 97 and get ahead of the curve!
Key Takeaways
NYSERDA’s efforts focus on advancing energy efficiency and clean energy to achieve New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) goals.
-> The CLCPA targets 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and a 100% zero-emission electricity sector by 2040.
-> Collaborative efforts, such as the partnership with ASHRAE, are aimed at balancing improved air quality and maintaining energy efficiency in buildings.
Decarbonizing New York’s older building stock is a major challenge, requiring significant investments in modernization and efficiency.
-> NYSERDA is working on roadmaps for carbon-neutral buildings and building electrification to guide future efforts.
-> Federal-state collaboration under the Biden administration presents new opportunities to accelerate clean energy initiatives, align goals, and benefit from federal support for infrastructure and innovation.
Speakers
John Mandyck
Chief Executive Officer
Doreen Harris
Acting President and CEO NYSERDA
Q&A
John Mandyck: What is the update on NYSERDA’s focus on incorporating environmental justice and frontline community needs? How is the Just Transition Advisory Committee and the working group helping to guide these?
Doreen Harris: Commissioner Seggos, co-chair of New York’s Climate Action Council, and I had the benefit of in-paneling our seven advisory panels and really getting to work on the important aspects of making recommendations to achieve the goals. I have the distinction of co-chairing the Just Transition Working Group with Commissioner Reardon at the Department of Labor, as well as having formed the Climate Justice Working Group, which is primarily tasked with identifying this very question of the definitional aspects of benefits.
The CLCPA sets forth a very clear objective to bring forth at least 35% of benefits to disadvantaged communities. We at NYSERDA have been working very diligently to ensure that our portfolio of investments brings forth those benefits as well.
John Mandyck: Indian Point goes offline later this year, but renewables will flow a couple years later. What’s the thinking on that gap in between?
Doreen Harris: First of all, it’s important to note that the New York Independent System Operator and the Department of Public Service have looked at the question of reliability associated with the Indian Point closure. As a state, we are strongly positioned from the perspective of generation supply and reliability. We are not wasting time in expediting project development. The state is hard at work to accelerate the development of renewable resources, not only just to replace the Indian Point generation, but more broadly to get us from that 27% to 70% and beyond.
John Mandyck: Is the state moving to a net zero or carbon neutral energy code? If so, when and how?
Doreen Harris: Last week we issued our Leadership Round of Clean Energy Communities. This new leadership round emphasizes new activities and impacts that can be realized by these communities. One of them does include adoption of the NYStretch Energy Code as a potential action that could be implemented relevant to the question at play.
John Mandyck: Has the state considered direct investment in improving the efficiency in public housing?
Doreen Harris: When we look at that Energy Efficiency and Housing Panel, one of the chairs is the commissioner from the New York State Homes and Community Renewal Agency in partnership with NYSERDA. HCR, as it’s known, is central to the work that we are advancing as a state for those exact reasons. I think there’s a lot of great examples where we are looking explicitly at the housing portfolio referenced by the questioner.
One milestone that was announced last month by Governor Cuomo, was a new initiative called Raise the Green Roof. That is explicitly directing HCR and NYSERDA to deploy retrofits, electrification measures, and solar on HCR’s affordable housing portfolio.
John Mandyck: It’s likely that all of the new green efficiency related jobs require additional training. How do we get more into the training sphere?
Doreen Harris: Our work at NYSERDA and statewide on workforce development and training has expanded measurably over the past several years. There has been over a $100 million committed. At NYSERDA, we have set forth a number of programs that we have advanced right now in workforce development.
What we see in terms of the delivery mechanism is that it is focusing not just on higher education. We’ve put forth tens of millions of dollars to advance various initiatives across the university system with SUNY, CUNY, and other private institutions.
We are also looking at organized labor, and trying to figure out how we can put forth training programs. I’ll just put in a shameless plug for the training programs at Urban Green. They’re a strong delivery partner for us with our GPRO training program, which helps train the building trades.
John Mandyck: How does NYSERDA see the role of gas utilities evolving through the CLCPA driven transition?
Doreen Harris: Our focus is on electrification as a primary vehicle to reduce emissions from the utility sector delivering from a gas perspective. There is a desire, of course, to minimize emissions of all sorts. On the other hand, members point out the fact that there are reliability considerations and benefits brought forth through existing infrastructure. I would say the balance of those issues are those that we as a Climate Action Council will be considering and advancing in the coming year.
John Mandyck: How is NYSERDA planning to solve the disconnect between the ownership of buildings and the users of those buildings?
Doreen Harris: NYSERDA has responded to this issue with our commercial tenant program, which is explicitly designed to support the ideas of tenants and landlords, as well as improving these leased spaces through primarily maintenance and operational elements. I think this program is a great example of bringing to bear information to help with decision making.
John Mandyck: Can we expect a new round of large incentives for energy storage, whether it’s batteries or thermal, to support the growth of their renewable infrastructure?
Doreen Harris: The Department of Public Service in coordination with NYSERDA recently completed a power grid study. What those studies looked at is explicitly where and how we can deliver the goals of the CLCPA and what are the needs from the perspective of transmission investment. The study is about 740 pages long.
John Mandyck: Will the new offshore wind projects qualify for RECs?
Doreen Harris: If an offshore wind project delivered into Zone J, my understanding on the basis of Local Law 97 would allow RECs generated by that project to be eligible for purchase by building owners to offset the greenhouse gas limits established.
John Mandyck: Will the South Fork Wind Farm serve Zone J, or just Long Island?
Doreen Harris: The South Fork Wind Farm is actually injecting its energy into East Hampton. I would say the answer to that would be no explicitly with respect to South Fork. However, there are offshore wind projects that are slated to deliver into New York City. The Empire Wind project being a great example of that.
John Mandyck: What’s the deal with biomass? Is it actually renewable?
Doreen Harris: Per the CLCPA, these types of fuels are not treated as renewable. There remains a question as to whether they have applicability in getting to broader goals beyond the 70% by 2030.
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