Feb-22-2012

In this issue:

•             City Reduces Its Own Year-Over-Year Energy Use 10%

•             City Releases Draft Wetlands Strategy

•             Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn Announce Newly-Adopted Building Codes Help Put City on Track Meet PlaNYC Goals

City Reduces Its Own Year-Over-Year Energy Use 10%

 The City recently achieved a 10% year-over-year drop in weather-adjusted energy use due to the implementation of building energy retrofits and improvements in operations and maintenance of municipal facilities led by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Division of Energy Management.

The DCAS-managed Peak Load Management Program saved the City a total of over $500,000 last summer and helped to avoid air-polluting emissions from some of the City’s dirtiest power plants. During times of peak electricity demand or during an emergency, buildings participating in Peak Load Management programs are paid to shed electric load in order to reduce the strain on New York City's electricity grid. Shedding load at times of high demand also helps to limit the use of the most expensive and often most-polluting power plants which are only fired up during peak demand. 

Learn more about what the City is doing to reduce its greenhouse gas footprint here 

City Releases Draft Wetlands Strategy

Wetlands are an important component of PlaNYC’s strategy for a greener, greater New York. That is why the Bloomberg Administration has worked with state and federal partners to invest over $74 million to restore or to create over 175 acres of wetlands since 2002. To build on these investments, the City released a draft strategy to further protect and restore wetlands in New York City.

Read the draft wetlands strategy here 

Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn Announce Newly-Adopted Building Codes Help Put City on Track to Meet PlaNYC Goals

On February 2nd, Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Quinn announced that newly-adopted green building codes are putting the City on track to meet PlaNYC’s goal to lower carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste.

Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn convened the NYC Green Codes Task Force to examine how to mitigate the impact of building construction and renovation. In February 2010, the Task Force, led by the Urban Green Council, proposed 111 recommendations to address a variety of issues, including carbon emission rates, public health and safety, and unnecessary costs associated with wasted energy and other resources. In the two years since, the Mayor’s Office and City Council have made 29 of those recommendations law, and are currently working to codify 8 others.

According to a report by the Urban Green Council, the adoption of these 29 recommendations will divert 100,000 tons of asphalt from landfills each year; reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide by 5 percent; lower the costs of lighting energy by 10 percent; and provide $400 million in savings by 2030.

Read the full press release here  and Urban Green’s report here