NYPA and OGS begin comprehensive energy audit of Empire State Plaza

ALBANY, N.Y. » The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and New York State Office of General Services (OGS) recently began a comprehensive energy audit of the Empire State Plaza as part of the state’s goal to green the plaza and for 100 percent of the electric generation in the state to be renewable energy by 2040.

Ramboll, an industry-leading energy, environment, and health sustainability consultant, has been selected by NYPA and OGS to conduct the audit.

After a series of technical reviews, community listening sessions, and meetings with neighborhood associations, the energy audit will look to expand on the current efforts already underway at the plaza, which was announced in 2019 after NYPA and OGS completed an evaluation of energy options for the plaza.

“NYPA and OGS are leading by example with the ongoing energy transformation at Empire State Plaza through the development of significant solar generation, energy efficiency and resiliency projects. This comprehensive energy audit is necessary to ensure that the plaza is able to continue its critical operation while we also progress the ambitious energy goals of New York State,” Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO, said.

“We are looking forward to getting this comprehensive energy audit underway and continuing our collaboration with NYPA to increase energy efficiency and resiliency at the Empire State Plaza. We are confident that Ramboll, a company OGS has successfully worked with on other high-priority projects, will help us identify the best options for making Plaza operations even greener and further improving the environment for our neighbors in Albany,” OGS Commissioner RoAnn Destito added.

The 18-month energy audit will aid the state in determining the benefit and feasibility of introducing existing and new energy innovations at the plaza. The planning includes the analysis and consideration of the impacts of the current and future utility operations of the plaza on the local and state community.

The plaza’s current heating and cooling system utilize a boiler steam plant, powered by natural gas, to provide heating for the plaza in the winter months and leverage the high-pressure steam from the boilers to power several chillers for cooling in the summer months.

The plaza’s aging energy system needs to be modernized to support the 13,000 state employees who work there. The goals of the audit include:

• Develop a path toward significantly reducing the plaza’s dependence on fossil fuels, including an investigation of geothermal and surface water as an energy source

• Reducing the impact of the Empire State Plaza facilities on the local community and environment.

• Maintain and improve the energy resiliency of the plaza.

• The energy audit will look to expand on the current efforts already underway at the plaza, which was announced in 2019 after NYPA and OGS completed an evaluation of energy options for the plaza through a series of technical reviews, community listening sessions, and meetings with neighborhood associations.

Those developed projects — which includes last week’s selection of DG Development & Acquisitions to develop more than 30 megawatts of solar energy in Oriskany to serve up to half of the plaza’s electricity needs with renewable power—are currently underway:

• Construction is underway on a nearly $30 million electrification upgrade to one of the on-site steam-driven chillers to reduce local gas use and emissions by 18 percent. The project is expected to complete next year.

• Implementation is in progress on the $60 million replacement of the existing on-site emergency generators with state-of-the-art efficient, low-emission and low-noise units. The project is expected to complete within the next two years.

• More than $16 million in LED lighting fixtures are being installed throughout the entire plaza complex to reduce energy use and statewide greenhouse gas emissions. The project is expected to complete in early 2023.

• The old, out-of-use steel smokestack at the former ANSWERS plant has been demolished.