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What's Happening from Environmental Building News

January 1, 2010

NYC Passes Landmark Green Building Legislation

On December 9, 2009, the New York City Council passed a package of legislation, known as the “Greener, Greater Buildings Plan,” that it says will reduce the city’s carbon footprint by 5%—a figure that has been compared to the entire carbon footprint of Oakland, California.

The legislation is a component of PlaNYC, a broad strategy introduced in 2007 with the goal of reducing New York City’s carbon footprint 30% by 2030. The four major building-related elements of the legislation are: the creation of a citywide energy code; a benchmarking requirement; lighting system upgrades and tenant submetering; and required energy audits and retrocommissioning.

The New York City Energy Conservation Construction Code closes a loophole in the New York State Energy Code—which is based on the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)—that previously allowed renovations comprising less than 50% of the building area to remain noncompliant. Now all renovation projects must comply with IECC in the portions of the building that are renovated.

The other three components of the legislation apply only to buildings 50,000 ft²(4,600 m²) and larger—nearly half the total built square footage within the city. These buildings must now monitor energy and water use through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Portfolio Manager tool; upgrade lighting systems to code for any renovations or by 2025; provide tenant submetering (residential tenants exempted) and a monthly statement of energy use; and undergo energy audits and retrocommissioning every ten years. (As initially proposed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in April 2009, the bill would have also required that building owners implement all retrofit options with a payback period of five years or less, but this element was retracted, reportedly due to pressure from building owners.)

“While New York already has the lowest per capita carbon footprint of any major city in America, we recognize that every city must take action to fight climate change,” said Mayor Bloomberg in a statement. “By requiring buildings to conduct energy audits and improve their energy efficiency, the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan will reduce the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions while creating thousands of jobs and dramatically reducing annual energy costs.”

– Andrea Ward

For more information:

Greener, Greater Buildings Plan

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