LL 97 of 2019 offers two adjustment pathways – one for buildings with qualified excess emissions, and one for qualified not-for-profit healthcare facilities. Adjustment applications opened on April 12, 2021. Adjustments are not an exemption from the law, but a temporary increase in the qualified building emissions limit to allow extra time for compliance. Eligibility requirements for each type of adjustment must be met as described in the law. A full application filing guide is provided by NYC Sustainable Buildings.

Get ready to start seeing some new letters posted in building lobbies. Local Law 33 (amended by Local Law 95) requires that eligible buildings larger than 25,000 square feet post Building Energy Efficiency Rating labels by October 31^st.

Peaker plants are power plants which produce electricity at peak times, when the demand for power is greatest. Such times include the summer, as heat waves hit and air conditioner use increases. The need for power during these times is especially acute in large cities such as NYC.

There are 16 peaker power plants currently operating in NYC, each running for approximately 90-500 hours annually. Peakers have shown to be a necessary part of NYC infrastructure, meeting the increasing demand for power and preventing widespread blackouts in the city.

Do you live in a natural gas constrained area? Now may be a great time for a free Clean Heating and Cooling screening! NYSERDA’s Clean Heating and Cooling screening provides the information needed for building managers to evaluate the feasibility of Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP), Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) and Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) technologies. NYSERDA is here to assist you in finding ways to reduce energy usage and costs in this tumultuous time.

Fitwel is a building certification program developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the General Services Administration (GSA) that sets standards for design features and operational strategies that support the health of building occupants. Fitwel offers more than 50 evidence-based design and operational strategies generated by expert analysis of over 3,000 academic research studies and tested across a portfolio of buildings. The Center for Active Design was selected by the federal government as Fitwel’s operator in 2016. Since then, Fitwel has become the world’s leading health certification system, with more than 1,000 registered projects in over 40 countries, impacting 830,000 people worldwide. 

While there is a significant amount of uncertainty all around us in today’s world, one thing we know for certain is that organizations and institutions are going to feel the economic pain from this pandemic through 2021 even if a vaccine were to be developed towards the end of 2020.  Healthcare organizations will see revenue shortfalls due to the pause on elective surgical procedures, which can account for between 40 - 60 percent of a hospital’s revenue.  Higher education will likely see a decline in admissions or applications as many families struggle during this economic downturn.  Commercial Real Estate is dealing with empty office buildings and the uncertainty that surrounds our return to work.

Background

Fordham University is evaluating a geothermal pilot project to heat and cool three buildings at its Rose Hill campus in the Bronx, NY. The University reached out to EME Consulting Engineering Group whose services focus on engineered solutions to provide energy efficiency. The Project The University is looking to implement alternative and renewable heating and cooling strategies on campus to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as shift heating production from fuel to electricity and begin phasing out cooling towers on campus. EME proposed installing a new vertical bore field and ground loop heat exchangers. The bore field system would provide condenser water to new equipment, including a new 700-ton central ground coupled heat pump plant to generate chilled water and low-temperature heating hot water, and a 100-ton new variable refrigerant flow (VRF) cooling system. Additionally, the existing building HVAC systems would be modified to support the new central heat pump plant configuration.

The Clean Energy Action Plan provides relief for businesses and residents affected by a natural gas constraint. As part of this plan, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is offering Clean Heating and Cooling Screenings for customers affected by natural gas constraints. Eligible customers can access free screenings to assess the potential and benefits of installing clean, efficient alternatives to natural gas for heating and cooling their buildings.

Benefits of Clean Heating and Cooling

Ground and air source heat pumps and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are smart, efficient, healthy options for buildings of all types and sizes.

• WARMER. Spread warmth more efficiently than conventional oil, propane, or electric resistance heating systems.
• COOLER. Cool more efficiently during high summer temperatures.
• COMFORT. Provide quiet, even heating and cooling throughout your building.
• EASIER. Clean heating and cooling systems last longer than conventional HVAC systems and require minimal maintenance.
• CLEANER, HEALTHIER, AND SAFER. No combustion of fossil fuels, fuel storage, or carbon monoxide emissions.

Eligibility Requirements 

Your building must be located in an area affected by natural gas constraints, and you must currently pay the System Benefits Charge (noted on your electric bill).

Screening Results

You will receive a screening report detailing the estimated impact of installing clean heating and cooling systems in your building, including:

• Energy consumption and costs
• Capital costs
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Financial metrics (investment payback, net present value)

Contact 

Kevin Pena: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Gotham 360 is pleased to announce that our client, Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens), has earned a STARS Gold rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.  With more than 900 participants in 40 countries, AASHE’s STARS program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university’s sustainability performance. Participants report achievements in five overall areas: 1) academics 2) engagement, 3) operations, 4) planning and administration, and 5) innovation and leadership.

The coronavirus has caused a paradigm shift in our society.  Certain things as we know them will never be the same.   Just think about how many offices, shared spaces, desks, and conference rooms lay barren and unused for the past 1.5 months across the world.   Even when a cure/vaccine exists for COVID19, how will companies continue to operate? Will companies continue to operate remotely?  How apprehensive will the workforce be to returning to their normal day-to-day?  These are all questions that need to be answered and those answers will have an impact on the future uses of corporate office space post-pandemic. 

The ConEdison natural gas moratorium went into effect on March 15, 2019, affecting many towns in southern and eastern Westchester. This means if you are a resident or business-owner in the affected areas of Westchester, you will not be able to establish a new gas connection until the moratorium is lifted.

The ConEdison natural gas moratorium, which began in Westchester has now been expanded to include Brooklyn and Queens. It is restricting residents and business owners from establishing new gas connections due to constraints on the grid. In response to the moratorium, end users are searching for (and being incentivized to use) alternative technologies that reduce their dependence on natural gas. One such technology is the heat pump.

On January 17, 2019 ConEdison announced a natural gas moratorium for the more populated, southern portion of Westchester County. The moratorium went into effect on March 15, 2019. This means that ConEd will no longer accept applications for new natural gas connections, in most of their Westchester service territory - until they can more closely align customer demand with available supply. Existing customers are not affected, but service to new customers is now limited.

Set to be one of the world's fastest growing energy consumers, the number of data centers continues to increase rapidly in conjunction with the constant growth of digital content, cloud, e-mail and internet traffic.

With 3 million data centers in the U.S. consuming 70 billion kilowatt-hours in 2014 alone, it's imperative for data centers to take steps towards offering energy efficiency services that focus on reducing energy consumption and lowering costs for industry users.

Data centers must meet the demands of both industries that are tasked with storing large amounts of information and the environment. By working with energy consultants, data centers can focus on reducing energy waste and employing new technology to ensure a successful and sustainable future.

Reducing Energy Waste and Adapting New Technology

Finding, managing, and de-commissioning comatose servers, 30% of which are estimated to exist due to their low visibility is the first step data centers must take to increase energy savings. Data centers can implement a four-step process of identifying underutilized servers that requires minimal effort. Through assessing their visibility, controlling their output, and automating workflow to drive efficiency, centers access immediate cost-energy savings, up to $500 per year, per server, while adding additional network capacity without expanding their footprint.

Data centers can also offer energy efficiency services by employing internet of things (IoT) technology. Facilities that deploy an incremental rollout of software that encompasses IoT to decrease energy costs, can see up to a 40% reduction in wasted energy and a 19% reduction in energy cost savings.

IoT technology creates a hyper-connected environment that allows facilities to be more responsive, dynamic, and capable of reducing excesses in energy-intensive data centers. Facilities that integrate sustainable energy optimization through IoT technology are able to collect, process, and analyze data that allows them to monitor and predict power and equipment failures, reducing wasted energy and increasing cost savings in the process.

As cloud devices and data storage remain popular and energy costs continue to rise, it's imperative for data centers to implement energy efficiency services and technologies that will lower costs and decrease waste. Reducing the number of comatose servers and integrating IoT technology are just two steps for energy-hungry data centers to implement in order to effectively and efficiently become more environmentally and fiscally sustainable