Gov touts $1.5B to cut building energy use

ALBANY — You have to spend some green to go green.

Gov. Cuomo announced Wednesday that the New York Power Authority’s Board of Trustees has approved $1.5 billion in additional funding over the next seven years for a program that improves energy efficiency at state owned and managed buildings.

“New York State is leading by example in the fight against climate change because there is no time to waste,” the governor said. “State and local government buildings must be at the front of our effort to reduce energy use and emissions.”

The BuildSmartNY program was first unveiled in 2012 via executive order, calling for a 20% reduction in energy consumption by all state agencies by next year and mandating green improvements at public facilities across the state.

Cuomo says the additional funding for the program dovetails with targets laid out in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection

Act, a sweeping set of green goals laid out by lawmakers earlier this year. The measure, signed into law by the governor over the summer, calls for the state to all but eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and get all of its electricity from carbon-free sources.

Improved energy efficiency in government buildings over the next few years will reduce electricity demand by 3% annually, the equivalent of 1.8 million New York households, by 2025, according to officials.

Under

BuildSmartNY,

the NYPA invests roughly $300 million annually on energy efficiency and renewable measures at public facilities.

Projects include retrofitting SUNY and CUNY buildings with energy-efficient measures and revamping outdated heating, cooling, and air-handling systems at Grand Central Terminal.

“This investment in energy efficiency improvements at government facilities is critical in achieving New York’s energy goals and reducing our carbon footprint,” Cuomo added.