New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings.
Hochul said in her annual State of the State speech that new construction in the state will be zero-emission by the year 2027.
Kathy Hochul is the governor of New York. Spencer Platt is pictured.
Hochul's office laid out her plan to curb on-site greenhouse gas emissions in a policy outline released Wednesday. The plan means that new buildings can't have oil or gas burners for heat or hot water. The plan would require energy analyses of every new building. The goal of 2 million electrified homes is set by Hochul.
New York City became the largest locality in the United States to ban gas hookups in new buildings last month. New York City has an energy benchmarking law on the books.
Some experts praised the statewide plan.
Ben Furnas, who served as New York City Mayor Bill, said that it was exciting to see the governor prove that he could do it anywhere. It is a proof point that this makes sense.
Furnas argued that electric heating for new and renovated buildings will make them the norm, even for owners of existing buildings, because of the New York City law and governor's statewide proposal.
As heat pump technology for heating and hot water improves, as you see federal incentives to encourage these shifts, I think, as you see other regulatory steps that municipalities could take.
An electric stove. The images are from.
The ban on new gas hookups in New York City will reduce the emissions that cause global warming by the equivalent of taking 450,000 cars off the road, according to a study by the think tank. Expanding the policy to the rest of the state would likely produce similar or even greater benefits since 11 million people live outside of New York City.
The measure enjoys some support in the state Capitol and will have to be passed by the state Legislature.
The world does not need natural gas right now, and that's why New York state Sen. Brian Kavanagh has sponsored legislation to phase out the use of natural gas in residential and commercial buildings. If you build buildings that rely on fossil fuels, you are baking in long-term needs.
Hochul and the majority of members in the legislature are Democrats. 20 Republican-dominated states have passed laws preventing local governments from banning fossil fuel infrastructure.
New York passed a law requiring it to reach net-zero emissions by the year 2050. Buildings are the biggest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in New York, accounting for 32% of the total. New York still relies on fossil fuels to produce most of its electricity, but it has a goal of reaching 70 percent renewable energy by the year 2030.
The gas industry believes that electric heat pumps are more expensive for consumers than gas boilers. That isn't necessarily true, according to Furnas.
People walk past a construction site in New York City. The photo was taken byAngela Weiss/AFP.
The analysis showed that it was about the same as a new construction. A lot of it is very site dependent, and part of the motivation for setting a date certain for new buildings is it will help jump-start a much more robust market and competitive heat pump market. As that technology improves and as developers and contractors get used to installing them in new buildings, you will have more competitive products on the market, and that will be good for the industry.
The bill that includes customer rebates for electric heat pump installation is uncertain.
The proposal wouldn't take effect for five years, which some environmental activists criticized as an excessively slow timetable. In a concession to real estate developers, New York City also set a deadline for large buildings in 2027, but buildings less than seven stories will have to stop being built with gas burners and stoves by 2024. The governor has not embraced the Build Public Renewables Act, a bill that would require the New York Power Authority to build out only renewable energy. 55 legislators from both chambers of the state Assembly sent a letter to Hochul asking her to back the proposal, but it was not included in her State of the State agenda.
Patrick Robbins, the New York Energy Democracy Alliance's coordinator, told Yahoo News that they need to see more from the governor.
Pre-existing investments and a gas ban that won't take effect for five years are not enough. We need Governor Hochul to pass the act this year.
Global temperatures have been on the rise for decades, and you can see the magnitude of climate change by looking at the data.
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