City Outlines Plans for Energy Consumption
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Mayor Bloomberg is detailing how the city government by 2017 intends to reduce by 30% its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
The long-term plan announced yesterday, part of the PlaNYC initiative, calls for reductions in energy consumption through upgrades to existing buildings, purchases of more energy-efficient municipal cars, changes at water treatment plants, and streetlight replacement.
The city has already committed about $900 million to the plan, which calls for a total investment of $2.3 billion. The projects will be partially funded by an annual commitment of 10% of the city’s energy budget. The energy budget for fiscal year 2009 is $100 million.
Mr. Bloomberg said additional funding is being sought from external sources, including state and federal programs, private foundations, and energy performance contracts.
The plan projects the city to break even on its investment by 2013, and by 2015 says the city will save more on its energy bills than it will spend on all planned investments to that point.
More than half of the energy reductions involve improvements to existing buildings, such as upgrades to facility lighting, refrigeration, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems.
The city government currently accounts for about 6.5% of New York City’s total energy usage and 10% of its peak electricity demand.
