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Hundreds of organizations are pressing Gov. Kathy Hochul to require that new buildings in the state be built to use electricity for heating, rather than fossil fuels like gas or oil, in her executive budget proposal to be released next month.
Hochul and lawmakers nearly reached an agreement this year to pass the All-Electric Buildings Act, which would change the state building code and require new building construction to be all-electric starting in 2024 for buildings under seven stories and by 2027 for larger projects. . This would bring state policy into line with New York City’s local statute passed last year that established a mandate in five municipalities to switch from gas furnaces, boilers and propane.
More than 200 organizations have signed a letter they plan to send to Hochul this week, demanding she include a list of proposals to satisfy the state’s laws to significantly reduce emissions. The All-Electric Buildings Act and the Gas Transition and Affordable Energy Act to reduce new gas connections and help decarbonize settlements.
Several lawmakers and legislative staffers say the All-Electric Buildings Act has failed with Assembly leadership after pushback from fossil fuel companies. They added that Hochul supports the electrification of buildings across the state, which gives them hope.
“It’s a very clear cost savings as well as good for the climate,” said Richard Schrader, policy and legislative director of the Natural Resources Defense Council of the Northeast. “It allows New Yorkers in New York City buildings to really get off the gas grid, which is getting more and more expensive.”
Representatives from Hochula’s office would not answer questions about the governor’s intention to include the proposals in his executive budget or State of the State address.
“Gov. Hochul is committed to reducing emissions from buildings and fighting climate change and will review all budget requests,” a spokesman for Hochul’s office said in a statement on Monday.
A Capital Region couple have transformed their 19th-century farm to be zero-emissions and electricity-dependent, and say it shows how the legislation’s requirements would be possible for both families and businesses.
Joan and Paul Koons paid about $17 a month in utilities for their Saratoga County home for most of the year. That includes all heating and cooling costs, as well as charging their two electric vehicles.
“The best way to save energy is not to use it,” Joan Coons said Monday. She is an adjunct professor at Hudson Valley Community College, a TEC-SMART facility teaching photovoltaics theory and design.
Their astonishingly low utility bill is possible because their home is completely fossil fuel-free, with dozens of solar panels installed on their two-acre property, triple-insulated windows and a geothermal heat pump.
The Coons’ home in Clifton Park features energy-efficient Energi Star appliances and an induction cooktop that uses magnets, not gas, to cook food.
“The goal was to be energy efficient — to be zero,” she added of the abandoned farmhouse they bought and gutted in 2009.
It was an investment the couple made while renovating their 1830 home 12 years ago. The home upgrades cost them several thousand dollars extra during the renovations, but have more than paid for themselves, especially with the expected 30-40% increase in home heating fuel this season.
Electric heating is estimated to save New York households as much as $900 a year, advocates say.
It is an investment that the state must make, says Paul Koons, adding that it is priceless to leave the world to future generations.
“They’re going to have to live with us, with our mistakes over the years, so if there’s anything we can do to make their lives better, then yeah, why not?” he said.
Fossil fuel companies and state business leaders have successfully fought the All-Electric Buildings Act and continue to question when projects will be exempt or how certain industries will afford to adapt to proposed changes to the state building code.
“For most building owners, this will be a mandate without funding,” said Ken Pokalski, vice president of government affairs for the Business Council of New York State. “We expect that there will be some state aid to help break down existing buildings and help the transition to new construction, but the state will certainly not pick up all the costs, so it will be absorbed by the economy, which is all of us.”
“…One of the main concerns we’ve always had is that New York State can create whatever mandates and standards it wants. What is the private sector going to do in response?”
Business leaders and affected stakeholders say they are working to make sure the governor has an ear and a seat at the negotiating table as talks continue through March. They have questions about exemptions for certain projects, such as in the restaurant industry, supply chain challenges and workforce training.
But lawmakers and lobbyists say they will push Hochul hard in the coming weeks to fund things their way, and put the state in the best position to win billions of dollars in federal aid for clean energy projects and electrification.
Assemblywoman Patricia Fahey is sponsoring the Gas Transition and Affordable Energy Act. Advocates of the Affordable Energy Act are urging the governor to support it. The Albany Democrat says it would complement the All-Electric Buildings Act.
“Our nation’s mostly fossil-fueled heating, hot water and cooking accounts for a staggering third of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions each year, roughly matched by the transportation sector,” said Fahey, D-Albany: “Together, this the two sectors account for two-thirds of New York’s total emissions, providing a clear blueprint for where New York can begin to significantly reduce emissions and meet its climate mandate. Experts agree that we will not meet our ambitious climate mandates outlined in the Community Climate Leadership and Protection Act (CLCPA) unless New York moves aggressively to transition away from reliance on fossil fuels. By developing a state gas utility transition plan aligned with the state’s climate and emissions reduction goals and ending fossil fuel infrastructure subsidies, along with the All-Electric Buildings Act, we are more likely to meet these aggressive — and vital — goals in the years to come.”
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