The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), passed in 2019, requires New York to achieve 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040 and reduce emissions by at least 85% by 2050. With buildings emitting 32% of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, major building electrification efforts are needed to meet CLCPA goals. An estimated 250,000 heat pumps must be installed annually from 2030 onwards to meet our climate targets, along with other policies like zero-emission building codes, energy efficiency benchmarks, and financial incentives.
The “Assessment of Electric Grid Headroom for Accommodating Building Electrification”, conducted by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. for New Yorkers for Clean Power, explored “headroom capacity” (the difference between how much energy is currently being used and how much energy our electric grid can provide) across New York’s utility service territories to determine if New York’s grid has available capacity to meet the increased electricity demand needed to meet CLCPA goals. The report found that, according to the utilities’ filings with the state, New York’s grid has ample capacity to serve the additional energy loads needed to electrify our buildings and meet CLCPA goals.
