The state is tapping hospitals to come up with new ways to improve energy efficiency and lower their carbon emissions, targeting one of the biggest categories of building polluters in the country.
Hospitals can receive part of a $30 million state fund to develop ways to retrofit electrical systems that can be replicated at other facilities, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week. The program is part of a bigger initiative to pilot large building conversions that reduce individual power usage and costs and offer a pathway for scaling at other sites.
Selected hospitals can receive up to $5 million to build and install more efficient energy models, like switching from fuel-burning to electrical systems. The project, which is run through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, takes aim at a particularly large carbon-emitter as the state struggles to meet legal mandates to slash emissions by 2030, part of the landmark Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act passed in 2019.
Hospitals’ massive size and particular needs make them among the most energy-exhaustive commercial buildings in the country alongside food service sites, which use a lot of power on cooking and refrigeration. Hospitals have some of the biggest footprints in the city with complex heating, cooling and ventilation systems, power-intensive medical equipment and a mandate to keep the lights on 24-7. Hospitals make up about a third of all carbon emissions in the health care sector, which accounts for approximately 8.5% of emissions nationally.
A report from NYSERDA last July acknowledged the state would likely miss the target of sourcing 70% of energy from renewable sources by 2030, pointing instead to 2033 as a more plausible goal. The report blamed delays on a number of factors including high interest rates and inflation and supply chain and workforce issues that hampered all parts of the energy development process, from material procurement to logistical operations.
The state launched a $50 million pilot program aimed at large buildings, known as the Empire Building Challenge, in 2020. The funding covers only a portion of what it takes to retrofit many large buildings. By 2024, the investment had been matched by $140 million in private dollars for retrofitting, according to the governor’s office.
NYSERDA plans to prioritize projects in underserved areas that tend to have higher rates of air pollution and respiratory illnesses like asthma. Hospitals will also be eligible for a small $50,000 grant to maintain the new systems and train staff on their use.
