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New York Power Authority makes 'significant progress' on BuildSmart2025 to reduce energy consumption at state buildings

By District Energy posted 03-10-2021 08:11

  

Niagra Frontier Publications

Summary

The New York Power Authority has made “significant progress” during the first year of BuildSmart2025, a statewide energy efficiency program aimed at drastically reducing energy usage in state facilities, the company stated Monday. The energy saving program calls for a reduction in site energy use in state buildings by 11 trillion British thermal units (BTUs) by the end of 2025, the equivalent of removing nearly 500,000 cars off the road. As of the end of 2020, state entities have implemented or are actively developing energy projects with calculated energy savings of more than 4 trillion BTUs with the expectation they will reduce an additional 1 trillion BTUs by the end of 2021.

There are 68 state entities participating in the BuildSmart 2025 program, with an assigned cumulative goal of reducing energy use in state facilities by 11 trillion BTUs. The goal is equivalent to a 34% reduction in energy use from a baseline year of 2015. The program goal directly supports Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which calls for a reduction in energy use statewide by 185 trillion BTUs. Additionally, the program supports the work of the GreenNY Council, which helps state agencies implement the state’s lead-by-example directives.

More information on how agencies are reducing energy use, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing climate resiliency can be found in the most recent “Greening New York State” report.

NYPA President and CEO Gil C. Quiniones said, “Through the bold direction laid out in the governor’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the Power Authority is acting swiftly to drastically reduce energy use in state buildings. I have every confidence that BuildSmart2025 will build on the success of BuildSmartNY as we help our customers achieve their energy goals and lead the charge to advance a clean energy economy for New York state.”

BuildSmart2025 builds on the success of BuildSmartNY – which was launched in 2012 alongside the governor’s executive order 88 – and directed state agencies to reduce their source energy use intensity 20% by 2020. Including committed projects, the state exceeded that goal, recording a combined source energy use intensity reduction of 22.6%. NYPA financed more than $650 million in energy-efficiency projects at state buildings under BuildSmartNY and the Power Authority currently has plans to invest more than $850 million in energy-efficiency projects at state buildings over the next several years as part of BuildSmart2025.

NYPA provides a wide variety of energy technology and renewable energy services to its governmental customers under BuildSmart2025, including energy audits, project engineering, design, installation, and construction management. The energy-efficiency projects carried out by NYPA include high-efficiency lighting retrofits, occupancy and daylighting lighting sensors, building and energy management systems, boilers, chillers, air-handling systems, thermal storage, microgrids, solar photovoltaic systems, digester gas systems, and emerging energy technologies. NYPA provides financing with full cost recovery by its customers.

Some of NYPA’s state customers include the State University of New York, City University of New York, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Office of General Services, Office of Mental Health and Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Some major energy-efficiency projects already completed under the program include more than $23 million for a new chiller plant and cooling towers at Grand Central Terminal, nearly $24 million in comprehensive air-handling improvements at the State University of New York at Stony Brook Life and Science building, and nearly $18 million in boiler and chiller plant upgrades at W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus.

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