What Does NYC Local Law 97 Mean for Your Building?
January 6, 2020 Newsroom
In response to New York State’s pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050, New York City has passed legislation to limit emissions from new and existing buildings. Local Law 97 is part of a package of legislation, The Climate Mobilization Act, that has been covered in our previous article http://collado-eng.com/new-york-citys-climate-mobilization-act/. This local law has the potential to be the largest disruption to NYC’s built environment in decades. Buildings are responsible for about 70 percent of the city’s emissions and as a result, will be the focus of efforts to reduce environmental impacts.
Key Points:
• If your building(s) are over 25,000 square feet or combine for over 50,000 square feet on the same tax lot, you will be required to comply.
• Building emission limits will be based on square footage and occupancy type of your building.
• Tons of carbon emissions equivalent (tCO2e) levels are derived from your total utility consumption, including directly metered tenants.
• Buildings with at least one rent stabilized apartment will be required to implement a prescriptive set of upgrades leading up to 2035.
• NYC’s Department of Buildings will implement a new Office of Building Energy and Emissions Performance.
• This local law is still under development by the appointed advisory committee. Future enhancements and clarifications are sure to follow as subsequent local laws.
How will you be impacted?
• Starting in 2024, compliance will be enforced with the first emissions report date due May 1, 2025 and enforced every May after.
• The second compliance period will begin in 2030 with increased stringency levels.
• Buildings not in compliance will be fined $268 per ton of CO2 over the limit.
• An estimated 75 percent of buildings will exceed the emission limits over the first two compliance periods and will need to reform their energy profiles.
• An estimated $20 Billion could be spent in energy focused retrofits and upgrades.
• NYC has enacted PACE financing under Local Law 96 to provide access to low interest rate financing based on property value and taxes.
• There are multiple pathways to meet compliance with renewable energy credits and plans to implement a carbon trading program.
What to Do and How Can Collado Engineering Help?
Don’t wait! Start reviewing your building’s current emission budget and emission levels to see where you stand today. Develop a plan for future retrofits to work with expected lifetimes of equipment, tenant leases, and your budget. Stay informed – Collado Engineering is actively involved with staying on top of the latest code developments.
Collado Engineering has experience analyzing utility bills, building size and utility infrastructure to gauge compliance and pinpoint areas of potential improvement. CE can help derive an implementation plan and guidelines for tenant work to align occupants with the requirements. We can advise alternative paths for compliance such as buying green power credits, carbon offsets, and reducing the carbon intensity of the fuels used. CE can develop MEP design plans and long term capital plans to upgrade or install modern systems focusing on reducing your utility consumption and emissions. Together, we can create a plan for your building to stay within the state’s goal in an efficient and economical manner.