Electricity makes the City’s daily functioning possible—from the vast underground transit system and commuter rail network to the elevators that serve our high-rises. To remain the financial, corporate and communications capital of the world, attracting and retaining businesses and residents, New York City must have a dependable source of reliable, affordable and clean electricity.

New York City has the most reliable electricity distribution system in the country. However, as the regional blackout of 2003 pointedly reminded us, systems can be subject to unplanned interruptions. The City has adequate resources for its electricity needs today, but the margins necessary for reliability are extremely thin, and demand continues to grow.

In April 2007, Mayor Bloomberg released PlaNYC, the City's long-term sustainability plan.  PlaNYC outlined 10 overarching goals, three of which are related to the City's energy infrastructure.  These three goals are:

• To achieve the cleanest air quality of any large city in America;
• To provide cleaner, more reliable power to all New Yorkers; and
• To reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030.

The Energy chapter in PlaNYC details four objectives to meet these goals:

• Improve energy planning;
• Reduce New York City's energy consumption
• Expand the City's clean power supply; and
• Modernize the electricity delivery infrastructure

The PlaNYC 2008 Progress Report on Energy provides an update on our accomplishments.

New York City is one of the 25 cities in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Solar America Cities partnership. DOE provides financial and technical assistance to support the partner cities' innovative efforts to accelerate the adoption of solar energy technologies.

The New York City Solar America Cities Initiative is a partnership of the Mayor's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability, the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and the City University of New York. Together, this partnership seeks to overcome barriers to solar deployment in New York City and to encourage solar implementation and market growth.

In July 2003, Mayor Bloomberg directed NYCEDC to organize and lead a public-private Energy Policy Task Force, which would comprehensively assess the City’s energy needs over the next five years and recommend specific policies and programs to meet those needs. The Task Force released its findings in January 2004 in a report entitled "New York City Energy Policy: An Electricity Roadmap" which details a combined-approach strategy comprising energy supply, energy delivery systems, distributed resources and City initiatives.

The Task Force concluded that the City needed 2,600 megawatts of new electricity resources by 2008.

In October 2009, NYCEDC launched a Solar Thermal Grant Pilot Program. This program will provide financial incentives (30% of total installed costs up to $50,000) to selected NYC-based businesses and institutions interested in installing a solar thermal system on their building.

For questions about upcoming clean energy funding opportunities offered by NYCEDC, please contact us.