New York Bets Big on Energy Efficient Investments

September 30, 2014

 

 

New York formally unveiled a plan that involves investing $1 billion in making public buildings more energy efficient over the next ten years. The changes will involve switching old lighting to LEDs, replacing out-of-date air conditioners, as well as other changes. The end goal is to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 compared to a 2005 baseline.

 

 

Many of these efforts will be backed by financing plans such as MESA, PACE or bill-on-pay that effectively allow upgrades to be funded through savings. Energy efficient retrofits  have been drawing a number of institutional investors, as companies promoting energy efficiency ideas say they can retrofit buildings, curb energy consumption and earn a steady 6% plus return for investors.

 

 

The initiative kicked off a United Nations conference on climate change in the city. Buildings account for roughly 40% of energy use nationwide, but this is disproportionate in large cities like New York, where buildings consume around 75% of all energy.

 

 

The big question is: will it work? While it is possible to calculate with a fair degree of accuracy how much energy an individual solar array with produce over 30 years, efficiency gains vary from building to building and can be impacted by unpredictable things like tenant behavior.

 

 

The main roadblock has been uncertainty. Better software and new financing models, however, are dramatically diminishing any doubt. The main impact of this program could ultimately be in showing the investors that efficiency is not as difficult as it appears.

 

 

energy efficient

View of NYC from Empire state building (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

Source: Forbes

What Our Clients are Saying

  • “Since the installation we cannot say enough great things about [the] company. Not only were installers professional and efficient, but there was no interference with our day to day production during installation. We immediately have noticed a savings in our energy bills.”
    -Justin Kelly, Tompkins Industries Inc.
    Learn More
  • “Worldwide Energy was very professional through the whole process. They handled everything from start to finish. I would highly recommend Worldwide Energy to anyone looking to improve their lighting and control utility costs. They take care of everything, it’s easy.”
    -Shawn Wakeman, Frank Ancona Honda
    Learn More
  • “Our project was completed in a timely manner with excellent results. All changes requested were completed and the crew was willing to do whatever it took to make us happy.”
    -Bill Keefer, Westlake Ace Hardware
    Learn More
  • “After considering several companies, we selected Worldwide Energy to do our lighting retrofit, primarily because their proposal was total turnkey and provided the most complete level of service.”
    -Mike Gonnerman, ROM Corporation
    Learn More
Ⓒ 2022 Worldwide Energy

Stay up to date with us

apartmentuserscrossmenucheckmark-circle linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram