After four years of pressure from environmental and labor organizations, New York State regulators have approved $111.5 million to fund the state’s first pilot thermal networks running on zero-carbon technology \u2014 an early proof-of-concept for a strategy that UpgradeNY coalition advocates hope will eventually shift entire neighborhoods away from fossil gas.<\/p>\n
The Public Service Commission selected two sites. In Haverstraw, utility Orange & Rockland will spend $50 million building a network to supply up to 30 buildings \u2014 including an elementary school and residences \u2014 with low-grade heat drawn from geothermal wells and municipal wastewater. In Buffalo, National Fuel Gas will invest $61 million to integrate a heat loop into the city’s historic downtown steam infrastructure; the new loop is designed to serve low-income apartment buildings and displace a portion of the gas boilers currently in use.<\/p>\n
The approach is intended to keep utilities financially viable without depending on gas sales while preserving skilled trades employment \u2014 heating engineers and pipefitters would be redirected to maintaining the new hydraulic systems rather than losing work in the transition.<\/p>\n
Theodore Moore of UpgradeNY and the ALIGN alliance described the outcome as a win-win from the standpoint of workers\u2019 rights and environmental justice, calling it “an important step to wean us off fossil fuels.”<\/p>\n
Regulators rejected nine competing applications that would have required collecting roughly $1 billion from ratepayers. The state will offset $93 million of the selected projects’ costs from a dedicated fund. Community organizations will track heat pump performance and grid load data throughout the pilots, which must demonstrate that their benefits justify the investment.<\/p>\n